Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
On January 4, the Houthis launched eight Zilzal-1 rockets and several artillery shells on positions and gatherings of the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies in areas of al-Khubah and al-Dud mount in the Kingdom’s southern province of Jizan.
“The artillery and rocket strikes achieved direct hits in the ranks of Saudi soldiers and their mercenaries in the targeted positions,” the Yemeni al-Masirah TV quoted a military source as saying.
The Houthis usually use the codename “Zilzal-1” to refer to a variety of locally-made improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAMs), which are usually based on Grad 122mm rockets or Type 63 107mm rockets. Most of these IRAMs have a very close range but a heavy warhead.
The rocket and artillery strikes were clearly aimed at deterring the Saudi-led coalition, which stepped up its airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen. This high tension in northern Yemen is a direct result of the recent UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement, which only covers the provinces of al-Hudaydah and Taiz in western and southwestern Yemen.
