Yemen’s army dismantles two cells working for Houthis in Marib

The Yemeni army on Wednesday dismantled two Houthi-linked cells in Marib.

The two cells were monitoring the movements of the Yemeni national army, according to a security source who added that military maps and communication devices linked to the Iran-allied Houthi militia in Sarwah in north Yemen were confiscated.

Last Saturday, the Houthis killed at least 79 Yemeni soldiers and wounded 150 more in a missile and drone attack on a training camp in Marib, located east of the capital Sanaa, in one of the deadliest attacks of the five-year-old civil war.

In a related development, Yemeni security sources revealed that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Marib targeted the house of Yemeni lawmaker Mossad Hussein al-Sawadi, killing his daughter-in-law and 16-year-old granddaughter, and injuring four other family members including the parliamentarian.

Hussein al-Huleissi, director of the criminal investigation department in Marib said that the strike destroyed the house completely and caused panic in the residential neighborhood, according to Saba news agency.

United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths condemned the attack and called for a halt to the recent military escalation in Yemen, which comes after several months of relative peace.

“Targeting MPs and civilian areas is unacceptable and against international law,” he said in a tweet.

Since last week, the Houthis escalated their attacks in Marib, targeting civilian neighborhoods after heavy losses at the hands of the Yemeni army, supported by the Arab coalition, in Nahm, Sarwah, and al-Jawf.