Gulf News:
Aden: Yemen’s deputy chief of staff was killed yesterday when Al Houthi militia battling government forces fired a ballistic missile at an army camp on the Red Sea coast, according to a military source.
Army deputy chief of staff Major General Ahmad Saif Al Yafii was killed by a heat-seeking missile on the outskirts of the strategic coastal town of Mocha, the source told AFP.
“Major General Ahmad Saif Al Yafei was killed along with several others when the missile hit the camp near Al [Mocha] city early this morning,” a military source, who is also a member of the general’s family, told Reuters.
Saudi-owned Arabiya TV also reported Yafei’s death.
Yemeni government forces captured Mocha from the Iran-allied Al Houthis last month.It was their biggest success in months. The town lies close to the Bab Al Mandab strait.
The rebels still hold the capital, Sana’a, and much of the central and northern highlands as well as the coast around Hodeida.
Before the 19th Century, Mocha was Yemen’s main port and export hub for coffee grown in the highlands, and its historical symbolism meant it was fiercely fought over.
Its role was overtaken by Hodeida and second city, Aden, where the government is based.
