Iran is providing Yemen's Houthi rebels with materials to manufacture armour-piercing improvised explosive devices, according to a new report by an arms tracking group.
“Improvised weapons used by Yemen’s Houthi forces have been manufactured using the same, identically configured components as those recovered from Iranian-backed groups in Bahrain,” said James Bevan, executive director of Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a UK-based organisation that monitors the flow of weapons to conflict zones.
“CAR’s latest findings confirm consistencies in Iran’s military support, not only to Houthi forces, but also to its proxies across the wider region.”
The report is being released on Monday, the third anniversary of the Saudi-led Arab coalition's intervention to support the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed rebels. It says the latest findings suggest that Iran's arming of the Houthis "began as early as January 2013".
The coalition has repeatedly presented evidence showing Iran's involvement in smuggling weapons to the Houthis, while the United Nations has said that Iran has violated an arms embargo by providing missiles and drones to the militia.
The United States said in December that two Houthi missiles fired into Saudi Arabia last year were Iranian Qiam missiles, based on their design and components recovered from the missile debris. Presenting the evidence, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the missiles were among a range of weapons supplied to the rebels by Iran, including attack drones, explosives-laden boats designed to be rammed into targets, and anti-tank rockets.
The CAR report compares findings on radio-controlled explosive devices recovered in Yemen and those it has documented in other areas of the Middle East. The devices were camouflaged to resemble natural rocks and contained explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) — plates of metal that are shaped by the force detonation into projectiles capable of piercing armoured vehicles.
“EFPs concealed in synthetic rocks and documented by CAR in Yemen closely resemble, in design and construction, devices recovered in Iraq and Lebanon, which parties have previously linked, forensically, to Iran,” said the report.
The Houthis placed these devices "along motorways connecting Mokha-Dhubab, Mokha-Taez and Mokha-Khawkha” — areas on Yemen's Red Sea coast where government and coalition forces have been battling for control since last year.
“Arab coalition forces recovered the most recently emplaced device in January 2018, which CAR documented in the same month,” the report said.
It also said that material previously seized on board the Jihan 1 — a ship that was intercepted by Yemeni forces off the country's coast in 2013 — was identical to material documented in Yemen by CAR.
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Read more
Iran smuggling increasingly potent weapons arsenal to Houthis in Yemen: US
Iran smuggling ‘kamikaze’ drones to Yemen’s Houthi rebels
UN says Iran broke arms embargo by sending weapons to Houthis
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“This confirms widespread assertions that the vessel was destined for Houthi forces in Yemen and would suggest that Iranian support to Houthi forces began as early as January 2013,” said CAR — whose investigation teams conducted six missions to Yemen between April 2017 and February 2018.
The use of EFPs hidden in synthetic rocks has strong precedent elsewhere, the report added. The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has consistently employed similar devices against Israeli forces in Israel and southern Lebanon.
CAR's latest findings build upon its previous reporting of Iran's involvement in the supply of small arms, light weapons and drones to the Houthi rebels.
The Yemen war was triggered when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and later advanced south, taking large swathes of the country. After entering the war at the request of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi on March 26, 2015, the coalition has helped pro-government forces to retake much of the territory captured by the rebels. However, Sanaa remains under rebel control.
The five pillars of Islam
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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57%20Seconds
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Jetour T1 specs
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Power: 254hp
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The%20Afghan%20connection
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A