Islam Times - Yemeni Forces Liberate Major Base from Saudi Mercenaries in Maarib

Islam Times - Yemeni forces have taken full control of a strategic military base in the country’s central province of Maarib, following fierce armed clashes with Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to Yemen's former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Local news outlets reported late on Friday that the Yemeni soldiers and allied fighters had established control over Maas base, which lies approximately 57 kilometers from the provincial capital city of Maarib, after they exchanged heavy gunfire with militants from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Salafist Islah Party.

The military base reportedly overlooks the city of Maarib, and was the last major bastion of the militants in the area.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a military onslaught against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives for over the past five years.

The Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending Yemen against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling the objectives of the atrocious war.