'Betrayal' Behind Deadly Houthi Attack on Military Base in Yemen

Betrayal was behind the Houthi attack on a military base in central Yemen, which resulted in the death of nearly 100 Arab coalition and Yemeni government forces, a Yemeni Defense Ministry official spokesman said on Monday.

DUBAI (Sputnik) – The attack by the rebels on an ammunition store at a base in the Yemeni province of Marib on Friday killed 46 UAE, 32 Yemeni, 10 Saudi and five Bahraini soldiers.

The Kuwaiti Shahed publication cited Yemeni Defense Ministry spokesman Ali Bakali as saying that the attack took place because the forces that had secured the province and declared allegiance to the government had retained their loyalty to the Houthis and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The spokesman specified that the air-to-air rocket had been launched from the neighboring province of Shabwah, a territory previously thought to be freed from Houthis.

Bakali underscored that Yemeni authorities, headed by President-in-exile Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, can only trust the new army, currently being formed. He added that the new army's make-up would be completely overhauled and would not include officers from the previous government forces.

The Saudi-led alliance has been conducting an operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen.