A U.S. Reaper Was Shot Down; Iraqi Forces Against Daesh; Yemen’s Houthi Threatened to Target Oil Tankers
PANAGYURISHTE, (BM) – Your evening news report on June 18 from BulgarianMilitary.com news team:
Centcom Confirms Reaper Shoot Down, Says Iran And Houthis Fired At Drones
The US on Sunday accused Iran and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of firing surface-to-air missiles at American Reaper drones twice over the past week, confirming earlier reports that the Houthis brought down one of the US drones over Yemen on June 6, Breaking Defense reports.
Houthi social media accounts posted video and photos last week showing what they claimed were images of the downed Reaper. The shootdown, and another attempted shootdown by what the US claims were Iranian forces, represent a significant escalation in tensions in the Gulf region after weeks of rhetoric by US and Iranian officials, sparking fears over the countries stumbling into a military confrontation.
The incidents, according to a CENTCOM statement, were undertaken by Iran, or “enabled” by the regime.
The June 6 downing was the result of the Houthis firing a Russian-made SA-6 ground-to-air missile which “indicated an improvement over previous Houthi capability,” according to CENTCOM.
Iraq launches new operation against Daesh north of Baghdad
The Iraqi security forces began a large-scale military operation against Daesh “sleeper cells” in Tarmiyah district north of the capital Baghdad yesterday, MEMO reports.
The agency quoted Captain Murad Jaafar as saying that the Iraqi army and police, backed by helicopters, have launched a large operation in the Tarmiyah district, explaining that “the security forces have received information that the group’s gunmen are planning to form groups to attack the Iraqi forces and disrupt internal security in Tarmiyah and areas north of the capital”.
Meanwhile, Director of Military Affairs in the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office, Lieutenant General Mohammad Mahdi, revealed yesterday that the residents of Tarmiyah have agreed to include a local force from the district along with the army during the operation.
Yemen: Houthi official threatens to target oil tankers as well as Egypt, Sudan
A senior official in Yemen’s Houthi group yesterday threatened to target oil sites as well as oil tankers in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea and some Arab countries with missiles, including Egypt and Sudan, MEMO reports.
“Any oil site or ship carrying oil in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea would be legitimate targets for us to stop the aggression,” President of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council Mahdi Al-Mashat said during an interview with the group’s Al-Masirah TV channel.
The Houthis, he added, now have “missiles capable of threatening deep into the coalition countries, and reaching any point in the Gulf states.”
Al-Mashat’s remarks came after the group claimed responsibility for two attacks against the Saudi airports of Abha and Jazzan, south of the kingdom.
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BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team
Source: MEMO, Breaking Defense