Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
On November 25, the Yemeni Missile Force [loyal to the Houthis] announced that it had launched two Badir-1P rockets at camps of the Saudi-led coalition in the district of Nihm in the central province of Sanaa and in the Alb crossing in the northern part of the northern province of Saada.
Sources in the Yemeni Missile Force confirmed to the al-Masirah TV that both camps were hit and said that many personnel of the coalition were killed and injured in the attack.
The Badir-1P, which was revealed on October 27, is an INS\GPS guided copy of the Badir-1 solid fuel artillery rocket. Experts believe that the Badir-1 family is derived from the Iranian-made Fajir-4 rocket.
Few hours after the rocket attacks, an armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Yemeni Air Force [also loyal to the Houthis] targeted a headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition in the central province of Ma’rib. Field commanders of the coalition were reportedly holding a meeting inside the headquarters when it came under attack.
“The aerial attack, which was carried out after careful observation, achieved its goal and inflicted deaths and injuries in the ranks of the enemy,” al-Masirah quoted a commander of the Yemeni Air Force as saying.
The aerial attack was likely carried out with a Qasef-1 UAV. According to a report of the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) group, the UAV is a copy of the Iranian-made “Ababil-2.” The Houthis used Qasef-1 as a suicide UAV when it was first introduced in 2017. However, the UAV was modified later to carry and drop small-diameter projectiles.
Unlike recent attacks, the Saudi-led coalition was not able to intercept any of the rockets or to shot down the UAV. This shows that the Houthis are becoming more experienced with these advanced weapons.
The Houthis halted their missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE earlier this month as a goodwill gesture. However, the Yemeni group continued its attack against the Saudi-led coalition inside Yemen because the coalition stepped up its operations in Saada, Sanaa and Ma’rib.
