Special to WorldTribune.com
Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon
Iran has dispatched additional paramilitary forces to Yemen to aid pro-Tehran rebels seeking to take control of the strategic southern Arabian state, according to recent U.S. intelligence reports.
The Iranian leadership earlier this month ordered militants from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, along with Lebanese Hizbullah fighters, to Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states are seeking to defeat an insurgency led by Houthi rebels that currently control large parts of the country.
The influx of Iranian forces was outlined in several classified intelligence reports circulated within government over the past two weeks, said U.S. officials familiar with the reports.
A State Department official said the Sunni Arabs in nearby states are opposing the Houthis and seeking to prevent Iran from establishing a foothold on the peninsula. Estimates put the number of both Iranian and Iraqi Shi’ite forces helping the Houthis in Yemen at around 5,000 people. The number of Lebanese Hizbullah members in Yemen is not known.
SEE COMPLETE TEXT
U.S. intelligence: Iran sending more fighters to Yemen added by World Tribune Life on
View all posts by World Tribune Life →
You must be logged in to post a comment Login