Ballistic Missile Explodes In Yemen; Houthis & Iranians Dead

TEL AVIV: Iranian engineers and a group of Houthi rebels in Yemen are dead after an Iranian-made ballistic missile targeted on Saudi Arabia exploded on the launcher on January 28.

The explosion comes after senior members of the Houthi militia began threatening to launch long-range ballistic missiles at Israeli targets, not in the Jewish state but targets such as ships traversing the Red Sea  on their way to the port of Eilat in Southern Israel.

We do not know what caused the explosion. Israel has taken steps to foil such launch attempts in the past. No one here was prepared to speak on the record about the explosion, which occurred in the northern suburbs of a city in an area called Al-Khatsba. Israeli sources say that there may be an operational need to attack Iranian upgraded missiles deployed in sites far from its borders.

Yemeni radio confirmed several hours after the event that a ballistic missile prepared for launch against targets in Saudi Arabia exploded. The report said many casualties were inflicted.

Israel has been busy trying to foil shipment of these accuracy add-ons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. More than 240 attacks were performed on shipments of these mechanisms in Syria, Lebanon and others location on the route from Iran to Lebanon.

This was not the first time a Houthi-controlled ballistic missile readied for launch against Saudi Arabia exploded. In mid-June last year, Arabic-language Sky News reported that Iranian military experts were killed at a military base near the capital Sanaa, in the area controlled by the Houthi militias.

Now, following intelligence data pointing to the deployment of Iranian missiles in countries like Yemen, Israel may perform long range strikes to foil any Iranian attempt to use countries like Yemen for the launch of missiles against Israeli targets.

While some doubt the strategic benefit of launching Iranian ballistic missiles from Yemen, others say that in this region, “things that at first glance look unreasonable, become a fact the day after.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said a few days ago that Israel is currently dealing with multiple theaters and enemies at the same time, with the northern front the most fragile and at risk of deteriorating into war. The IDF, he said, has “increased its pace of preparations” for confrontation. “On both the northern and southern fronts, the situation is tense and fragile, and could deteriorate into a confrontation.”

And an Iranian missile explodes in Yemen.