Yemen’s state news agency SABA reported Sunday that security forces in Shabwa province seized a weapons shipment and detained 13 people whom authorities described as members of a Houthi cell. Officials said the cargo was intended for the Houthis.
Shabwa’s Rapid Intervention Forces found a truck and two containers at a rented house that SABA said had been used to take in weapons shipments. The reported cargo included about 500 automatic weapons, sniper rifles, 120 mm and 106 mm projectiles, explosive devices, projectiles and bombs intended for use by drones, and drone components.
Information Minister Maamar al-Iryani said preliminary inquiries indicated the weapons had been smuggled by sea via the coast of Rudum district. SABA said security teams monitored the case and worked with relevant agencies ahead of the seizure. The agency did not give the operation date, name the detainees or present evidence of their alleged Houthi links.
The announcement followed an attack that officials said struck a security training center in Shabwa on Oct. 19. The governor’s office reported 73 people killed and 14 missing in an update the next day.
The Associated Press reported that fighting in Yemen had resumed after a 2022 agreement that substantially reduced hostilities.
