Houthi Forces In Yemen Capture Territory in Asir, Saudi Arabia, Close In On Najran Provincial Capital

Backed by the Yemeni Republican forces and fighters loyal to former Yemeni President Saleh, Houthi fighters have once again struck a major blow to Saudi Arabia inside Saudi territory. After a string of territory and military bases inside Saudi Arabia being seized by the Houthis particularly in the Najran province, the fighters have now seized several Saudi military posts in the Asir Province.

In addition to the capture of these provinces, the Houthis have managed to capture with them a large cache of American and Canadian weapons that belonged to the Saudi military.

Not only that, but Houthi forces continue to march forward in the Najran valley, moving close toward the provincial capital.

In a story that went virtually unreported in the West, the Houthis managed to wrest control of three Saudi military bases in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan province, located near the Saudi-Yemen border in January of this year. The bases Jabal al-Doud, al-Aril, and Madba were all seized by Houthi forces and fighters with “allied Popular Committees.”

The Houthi forces along with Yemeni soldiers also launched retaliatory shelling strikes inside Saudi Arabia’s al-Makhrouq military base in the southern Najran region.

Houthis and allied Yemeni fighters have long been inflicting heavy damage upon Saudi and Saudi-led coalition troops and vehicles deployed on the ground inside Yemen as well as occasionally downing coalition jets. The fighters have also managed to damage Saudi ships located off the coast.

In July, 2016, Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia. According to reports coming from Al-Masdar, Houthis launched a Tochka ballistic missile toward the Ahad al-Masarihah Military camp, resulting in a heavy death toll of Saudi soldiers as well the destruction of several armored vehicles.

Reports coming from various sources that the Houthis penetrated around 10 kms into Saudi Arabia in August.

Video footage then surfaced showing a battle between Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia’s tanks.

In addition, it was announced in early August that a coalition that will function as a “political council” is in the works between the Houthis and fighters loyal to former President Saleh, a move that flies in the face of the GCC resolutions regarding the governing structure of Yemen.

Throughout the entire affair, Houthi forces have revealed the Saudis as nothing more than a military paper tiger incapable of actually defeating a rebel force in a neighboring country. However, after this string of victories and the fact that Houthi and Houthi-allied forces have actually managed to successfully invade Saudi territory, KSA’s weakness appears to be even greater than what many informed observers may have suspected.