Six Iranian, Lebanese Military Experts Killed In Missile Mishap In Yemen

At least six Iranian and Lebanese advisers were killed in Yemen on Monday by a ballistic missile that exploded while being redeployed at a camp run by the Iran-backed Houthis.

According to reports by Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya and other Arabic-language news outlets, dozens of Houthi militants were also killed as the blast triggered a second explosion in a nearby factory and weapons depot near Yemen’s capital Sa’ana.

Yemeni websites also quoted a military source as saying that these explosions were caused by the unsuccessful launch of a missile from the Al-Hafa military base by Houthi militias.

Later in the day, Yemen’s internationally recognized government accused the Iran-backed Houthis of not abiding by a key element in a UN-brokered truce to reopen roads to the besieged city of Taiz, saying the group was “running away” from its commitments.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak also said in a news conference in Amman that his Aden-based government supports any move to expand the truce beyond the latest two-month extension to a durable peace deal.

The Houthis receives military and political support from Iran in their conflict with other Yemenis backed who are backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2014. Iran has been sharing its missile and drone technology with Yemen’s Houthis and has also supplied other proxy forces, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militias.

The United States, its Western allies and others blame Iran’s drones and missiles for attacks by Houthis on Saudi and Emirati energy facilities.