The Anad base drone strike was a

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

attack carried out on 10 January 2019 in the

Lahij Governorate Lahij ( ) is a governorate of Yemen. Geography Adjacent governorates * Taiz Governorate (northwest) * Dhale Governorate (north) * Abyan Governorate (east) * Aden Governorate (south) Districts Lahij Governorate is divided into the following 15 ...

near the southern port city of

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. The strike killed six people attending a military parade, including the head of Yemeni Intelligence, and wounded at least 25 military personnel including a number of senior officers from the

Yemeni army The Yemeni Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Republic of Yemen. They include the Yemeni Army (including the Republican Guard), Yemeni Navy (including the Marines) and the Yemeni Air Force (including the Air Defense Force). Sinc ...

, the country's chief of staff, and a government official.

Attack

The attack targeted a military parade at the al-Anad airbase in the

in the south of the country. A sophisticated Qasef-2K model drone exploded over the parade from a height of 20 meters and rained shrapnel down on the ground. This model drone had not previously been used by the Houthis. The wounded included Maj. Gen. Mohammad Saleh Tamah, the head of Yemen's Intelligence Service, Mohammad Jawas, a senior military commander, and Ahmed al-Turki, the governor of Lahij. General Tamah died of his injuries on January 13.Maj. Gen. Mohammad Tamah dies of his injuries in Aden
Aden Press, 13 Jan 2019.

Reaction

The Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV announced that the aims of al-Anad base drone strike were to attack “the leadership of the invaders”. The Houthi drone attack led to pressure on the UN to suspend peace talks in Yemen. "This is an unprecedented and pretty aggressive move for them to be hitting this base," Adam Baron, visiting fellow with the European Council on Human Relations, told ''

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

''. "The Houthis have not succeeded in carrying out an attack of this magnitude against a Yemeni military installation in quite some time." Jeremy Binnie, a weapons expert who works as the Middle East and Africa editor at Jane's Defence Weekly, said he believes it's the first time the Houthis used this version of the drone in the field.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anad base drone strike, 2019 2019 in Yemen 2019 airstrikes Drone strikes in Yemen Drone strikes conducted by the Houthis January 2019 in Yemen Lahij Governorate in the Yemeni civil war (2014–present) Attacks on parades in Asia Attacks on airbases in Yemen Attacks on military installations in 2019 Yemeni war casualties Explosions in 2019 Explosions in Yemen