Naval Weapons
Yemeni rebels claim third anti-ship missile attack
Ansar Allah, the Yemeni group that ousted the country's president last year, claimed on 26 October that it had sunk a naval vessel off the coast of Taizz province using an anti-ship missile.
This was the third time the group claimed to have launched an attack on a naval vessel operated by the Arab coalition that is fighting to reinstall the president. It was also the first such occurrence to be accompanied by footage purportedly showing the targeted warship and the missile being launched.
The footage initially aired by Al-Masirah TV, a Yemeni channel that supports Ansar Allah, showed one of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) Baynunah-class corvettes apparently filmed from another vessel. It later released more footage that clearly showed the Egyptian Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate Taba (916). Neither vessel was seen being attacked.
The extended Al-Masirah package also identified a Baynunah corvette and the Saudi replenishment vessel Yunbou as the targets of the attacks supposedly carried out on 7 and 10 October.
Al-Masirah's footage of the missile being launched was shot at night, making it impossible to identify the system involved. However, it did appear to show a booster motor dropping away from the missile after the launch, which is consistent with the mainland area-made C-802 missile that is in service with the Yemeni Navy.
Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman, the spokesman for the Yemeni military units allied to Ansar Allah, told Al-Masirah the missile had hit the middle of the vessel and destroyed it. He added that any naval vessels approaching Yemen's coast would meet a similar fate.
None of the Arab countries participating in the coalition responded to the anti-ship missile attack claims or reported any naval casualties.
Meanwhile, the UAE-based Sky News Arabia aired footage on 27 October showing an airstrike completely destroying a dhow that - its source said - was smuggling weapons into Yemen.
發表於 2015-10-31 22:26:53
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