Brigadier General Ahmed bin Hassan Asiri, spokesman for the coalition forces and an adviser in the defense minister’s office, said coalition aircraft had destroyed about 80 percent of the arms stores belonging to the Houthis and their allies. He said 2,800 sorties had been flown since the start of Operation Decisive Storm.
Asiri announced three objectives for the second phase of coalition operations: preventing Houthi movements, protecting civilians, and supporting relief efforts. He confirmed that coalition aircraft were targeting ballistic missile storage sites in Sanaa and Al Anad Air Base.
One of the bridges targeted by coalition aircraft to cut off Houthi supplies.
He said the popular committees were searching houses and hideouts in Aden for weapons and had discovered and seized large quantities of arms in houses, providing additional support for their forces.
The coalition spokesman explained that air operations had targeted caves used as hideouts, bridges used for movement in northern areas, missile bases, weapons stores, and their access roads. He said militia supply operations from outside Aden had become very weak and groups inside the city were now isolated.
Houthi militia positions targeted by airstrikes.
At the daily Operation Decisive Storm briefing held at Riyadh Air Base last night, Asiri said a hotel that had become a command center and militia gathering point had been destroyed. He also disclosed that some militias had attempted to move toward the Saudi border, where their concentrations were destroyed.
A missile store targeted by airstrikes.
The coalition spokesman said no border violations had been recorded the day before yesterday. Artillery continued to shell armed movements, and Saudi ground forces, working with the Border Guard, had used multiple rocket launchers for the first time.
Asiri confirmed that the blockade of ports remained in place, except for ships carrying relief supplies to improve living conditions for Yemeni citizens. The air blockade also continued. He said 98 percent of the air force had been neutralized and stressed that coalition forces had complete air superiority and could reach any location freely.
A communications center bombed by coalition aircraft.
“The groups have been isolated by targeting all the communications sites used for this purpose. The militias currently have no means of command and control in the military sense,” he said.
He continued: “Operation Decisive Storm is continuing to implement its objectives according to the agreed timetable. The situation in Aden is improving day by day. The popular committees are searching for hidden weapons, and most ammunition stores in Aden have been targeted. Houthi militias are turning houses into ammunition depots. Their communications headquarters have been targeted and the roads leading to weapons stores have been disrupted.”
He confirmed that the coalition was supporting the 35th Brigade in Taiz against Houthi militias while continuing to support the popular committees in Aden. All positions from which Saudi Arabia’s borders were threatened had been destroyed. He stressed that the ballistic missile threat had been neutralized, nearly 98 percent of the air defenses seized by the Houthis from Yemeni army stores had been destroyed, and all command and control centers had been destroyed.
He said coalition aircraft flew more than 100 sorties the day before yesterday, reaching 106. Their purpose was to maintain pressure on Houthi militia members, camps, and ammunition assembly points.