ISIL terrorist group has openly confirmed that its members are fighting alongside Saudi-backed mercenaries against Yemen’s army and forces from Popular Committees in the province of Marib.
Over the past few weeks, Marib has been the scene of major operations by Yemeni allied forces pushing hard to recapture it from forces loyal to the former Saudi-backed government.
In a short statement on Wednesday, ISIL announced it has carried out operations against Yemen’s Houthis (another name that refers to the allied forces) in Marib province, killing and wounding a number of them.
The new development came after Yemeni allied revolutionary forces launched a major offensive to retake Marib, which is considered as the last stronghold of Saudi-backed forces in northern Yemen.
Their advances have raised concerns in the Saudi-led coalition and their allies, including the US. On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Houthis to halt its offensive and end retaliatory strikes on Saudi Arabia.
Ansarullah, the political wing of Yemen’s revolutionaries, stressed that the call proves US support for terrorist elements in Marib.
Last October, the Sanaa-based Yemeni Foreign Ministry said that militiamen loyal to fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi were closely working with al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorists.
The ministry, in a letter addressed to the United Nations and the UN Security Council, elaborated on clean-up operations carried out by Yemeni allied forces against al-Qaeda and Daesh terror cells in the central province of Bayda.
The letter said there were foreign nationals, mostly Saudi citizens, among militant commanders and combatants slain in Yemeni operations. Large amounts of weapons, bombs and explosive belts were also seized, the letters said.
Source: Press TV
