Saudi fighter jets reportedly strike rebel targets in Yemen

www.latimes.com...

Reporting from Cairo - Saudi Arabian warplanes attacked Shiite rebel strongholds in northern Yemen on Thursday in a surge of fighting along the border that followed the death of a Saudi security official at the hands of insurgents, according to news reports.

Saudi fighter jets targeted as many as six rebel positions in Yemen and along the mountainous border. Saudi troops reportedly were heading toward the region to secure villages and prevent further cross-border incursions by Houthi rebel forces, which have been sporadically battling the Yemeni government since 2004.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.nytimes.com
news.scotsman.com
www2.debka.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Saudi Arabia gives Israel permission to fly over airspace!
Saudi Suicide Bomber Hid Bomb in his Anal Cavity

[edit on 6-11-2009 by SLAYER69]

I did a quick search and found no threads on this topic. The report is a few hours old. I guess the Hood shooting have swamped peoples attention.

Well apparently there was some action and the Saudi's are going to town over it. Literally. Supposedly some news outlets are playing up the fact that these may be Iranian backed forces. Other sources say they are Al Qaeda

I noticed they have allowed Israel to use their airspace. I've posted a link to another recent thread about that above.



(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 6-11-2009 by SLAYER69]

Same source

Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, is attracting militants from Al Qaeda who seek to overthrow the government and launch attacks across the Middle East, U.S. officials say. The Saudis fear that Al Qaeda elements will exploit Yemen's instability to infiltrate the kingdom and attack government targets and oil installations.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I think that both Yemen and Sudan have a worse fate than Iran or Iraq.
Yemen because it's the most poorest country in the arab world and Sudan because it's the most extreme in the religious arab world.

And i'm not surprised that the Saudis are letting Israel use their airspace.
I'm sure the U.S. sent some $$$$$$ to the saudis on Israel's behalf.

Anything for $$$$

reply to post by ModernAcademia


I've noticed how this dangerous development has flown under ATS's radar. [so to speak] The implications are potentially staggering.

[edit on 6-11-2009 by SLAYER69]

Good find!

I found the following that indicates Yemen denies all of it..

Yemen denied any military action by Saudi Arabia inside its borders. But Yemen's president is a key ally of the Saudis, making it highly unlikely the kingdom would have launched the offensive without tacit Yemeni agreement.

A U.S. government official said the Yemenis were not involved militarily in the fighting. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

From..

Time - Saudis Attack Yemen Rebels

Saudis and the Yemen govt are Sunni and the rebels are Shiite. Which raises all kinds of interesting things...

The offensive immediately raised concerns of another proxy war in the Middle East between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally. Shiite Iran is believed to favor the rebels in Yemen while Saudi Arabia, which is Sunni, is Iran's fiercest regional rival.

The same dynamic has played out in various forms in Lebanon, where Iran supports the Shiite militant Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia favors a U.S.-backed faction, and in Iraq, where Saudi Arabia and Iran have thrown support to conflicting sides in the Sunni-Shiite struggle.

reply to post by Frogs


What do you think the possibility is Iran is attempting to deflect attention away from itself by stirring the pot elsewhere?
Clashes reported at Iranian rally

reply to post by SLAYER69


Certainly possible, it could be an attempt to do just that. It could also be used as something internally by the govt. of Iran to shift the anger of the populace away from the govt of Iran and to the Saudis.

Likewise, it could be just another case of Sunni vs Shiite.

Its tough to say. In the Middle East there is no shortage of pies an no shortage of possible fingers to be stuck in them.

Al Jazeera.net: Saudi forces keep up Houthi assault

Saudi jets and ground forces have carried out more raids against Yemeni Houthi fighters, the government has said.

The operations were to "neutralise the firing by intruders" and to clear areas where they had encroached on Saudi territory, the government said in a statement on the official SPA news agency on Friday.

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
reply to post by SLAYER69

 

I think that both Yemen and Sudan have a worse fate than Iran or Iraq.
Yemen because it's the most poorest country in the arab world and Sudan because it's the most extreme in the religious arab world.

And i'm not surprised that the Saudis are letting Israel use their airspace.
I'm sure the U.S. sent some $$$$$$ to the saudis on Israel's behalf.

Anything for $$$$

do not forget it is the saudis who made up most of the 9-11 bombers, osama bin laden is a saudi and saudi arabia is where wahhabism, one of two jihadist ideologies in islam, was formed. it is the saudis who exported jihadism..

Iran is well studied in the teachings of Sun Tzu.

Indirect tactics.

Create as many diversions as possible to take folks eyes off what you're really doing.

Whether or not Iran is supporting these forces in Yemen, it certainly does work in their favor.

And it's about time for Hizb'Allah to stir the pot as well. They've been moving in, improving positions, and should be just about ready to start some more ****.

Then Syria.

On and on.

Hezbollah, Iran, and Al-Qaeda have common enemies. And for that, they will collaborate. Saud is one of those enemies.

Bin Laden's father was Yemeni.

If you were these rebels, you'd take help from any group.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Well, AQ is a predominantly Sunni organization, whereas many of the groups supported by Iran are, indeed, Shiites. However many of these groups have been around for a while, and Iran only backs a few of them. Most notably Hezbollah, and Hamas. This could be an autonomous group with few connections to any well-known organization.

[edit on 6-11-2009 by projectvxn]

Seems like Saudi Arabia is starting to grow a pair. Fighting their own fight.

There is reason to believe that Iran is involved in Yemen, but to what extent is the question.

But aside from Iran, I wonder how much of this is Saudi Arabia testing its military readiness and weapons.

Yemen's government has confirmed reports its coast guard has seized an Iranian ship with arms it says were destined for Yemeni rebels. Iranian media counters the Yemeni government is using al-Qaida in its war against the Shi'ite rebels.

Yemen's Interior Ministry says it is questioning five Iranians found aboard a ship captured earlier this week off Yemen's western coast.

www.voanews.com...

Originally posted by dooper
Iran is well studied in the teachings of Sun Tzu.

Indirect tactics.

Create as many diversions as possible to take folks eyes off what you're really doing.

Actually you are describing Isreal more than anyone else.

With my workload and keeping up with the torrent of news I stopped keeping links. But know from couple sources Iran is active in Yemen.

Not sure all the details, but Yemen is a bargain basement sizable country bordering with Saudi Arabia that can be bought off easily.

This is part of Iran's strategy to keep the Saudis at a disadvantage having to protect themselves on all sides.

Both the Saudis and Iranians are seeing a showdown in the near future. Neither wants a direct confrontation. Iran likes to pick away making small but steady gains.

The Saudis are looking to become autonomous as far as self-defense. Yemen may be their first test skirmish.


M

This reminds me of when Russia attacked Georgia on the day of the Olympics. Not because the situations are alike, but because the story was swamped by other bigger news. That was likely planned because it was a great day to bury a story. Perhaps there is some opportunism going on here?

S+F for digging this one out.

Originally posted by mmiichael

With my workload and keeping up with the torrent of news I stopped keeping links. But know from couple sources Iran is active in Yemen.

Not sure all the details, but Yemen is a bargain basement sizable country bordering with Saudi Arabia that can be bought off easily.

This is part of Iran's strategy to keep the Saudis at a disadvantage having to protect themselves on all sides.

Both the Saudis and Iranians are seeing a showdown in the near future. Neither wants a direct confrontation. Iran likes to pick away making small but steady gains.

The Saudis are looking to become autonomous as far as self-defense. Yemen may be their first test skirmish.


M

Saudi has got all those nice air force planes just sitting around, getting dusty, waiting to blow # up.

Iran might have a nice big Army, but it won't matter if they get carpet bombed into a crater while on the move. Iran's army is best used against....Iranians apparently.

Originally posted by Aeons
Saudi has got all those nice air force planes just sitting around, getting dusty, waiting to blow # up.

Iran might have a nice big Army, but it won't matter if they get carpet bombed into a crater while on the move. Iran's army is best used against....Iranians apparently.

The unfortunate reality of Iran's great military capability that they trumpet with weekly updates is that their equipment is woefully out of date. Much going back to the days of the Shah. Their airpower is a complete bluff.

Sanctions make to difficult to get US and other Western parts. The Russians have been happily selling them dysfunctional out-of-date junk that requires Russian made parts - often out of stock or inferior quality.

They have been using black market uranium with impurities causing a whole new set of problems.

There was a reason the much smaller Iraq was able to keep Iran at a standstill in a prolonged war in the 80s. Things are much worse for them now.

Iran could be taken out by one of it's neighbours, like Turkey, without raising a sweat. They are terrified the US, Israel, or some combination might decide to pay them a visit.

All the breast beating is to intimidate hostile intruders.

Al Qeada would like to and is trying to take over both Yemen and Somalia.

This would allow them to control both sides of the Gulf of Aden and any shipping coming out or going into the red sea and the suez canal.

This is about 1/3 of the shipping of the world
and much of the shipping from china to europe.

If you think the would is having trouble with a few Somalia pirates.

Think what Al Qeada could do with a 50 to 60 Suicide bombers in small boats packed with explosives