Yemen Crisis/Conflict & the "Decisive Storm" Coalition

plawolf

Lieutenant General
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Why was this ship close enough to shore like this...and then at night you can see that some of the small boats taking pictures gt in retty close.

Reports are the ship was hit while traversing the Bab al-Mandab strait, in which case simple geography would have meant the ship had to get very close to the Yemani coast.

Potentially to within visual range depending on where this happened, so that video could even have been shot from shore rather than from a speedboat.

If that is true, it would simply be an astonishingly unforgivable elementary mistake to not see the obvious vulnerability of a ship in that position and assign it proper protection to escort it past that obvious choke point and danger zone.

Looks like they underestimated their foe to a ridiculous degree and thought that running with all nav lights off at night would be sufficient protection against detection and attack.

Some heads will roll for this, probably literally if members of the royal family died as a result.

The only potential bright spot from this unmitigated, self-inflicted disaster might be the timing of the attack.

With it being the middle of the night, most crews and passengers would be in their quarters asleep, that would have given them a far better chance of survival than if it was day and everyone was up and about.

Although this being the UAE, they probably converted much of the observation deck into penthouse apartments for the royals so they could enjoy the views from those massive windows, in which case that would have put those sleeping royals right in the middle of the most likely blast area.
 

SampanViking

The Capitalist
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It was not a US Navy combat ship operated by Naval personnel. That would be a "USS" designation.

I was basically leased as a test for the fast transport concept, and was operated as a USNS vessel operated by the Merchant Marine, but available to transport US military personnel and equipment.

If necessary there would be a military security detachment aboard depending on the threat level they would be armed with anything from small arms to MANPADs.

The Spearhead Class USNS (again not operated by the US Navy) developed from the experience with this ship.

I would like to see a icture in daylight after the attack to be able to assess the damage. If the video shown is the actual video, I would say that it was a C-802 type missile and the damage was pretty severe.

The longer it goes without seeing ANY picture, the more people are going to come to the conclusion that it sank. I would be surprised if that was the case...but depending on thje damage control training of the crew and where it was hit, it is possible.

It did not look like a waterline or even near waterline strike...but if there were secondary events that blew out section to eet the sea in...it could have gone down.

That's why we need to see pictures of the ship now.

Thanks Jeff
No, I was not suggesting that it was a US/US manned vessel, simply that it looked like a military ship and had been tested by military. It was a "looks like a duck, walks like a duck" comment.
Its not as if you ever see new Cruise ships from Viking, Stenna or Cunard etc being taken for a spin by the Marines.

The damage however looks pretty terminal and the delay in reporting the event is still intriguing!
 
at first I read about it in Russian Internet
UN: Yemeni officials indicate over 140 killed in airstrike
An airstrike on Saturday hit a funeral hall packed with thousands of mourners in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and local health officials indicate that over 140 people were killed and more than 525 wounded, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen said.

Nasser al-Argaly, the Health Ministry's undersecretary, told a news conference earlier that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for the airstrike, which one rescuer said turned the site into a "lake of blood." At the time, al-Argaly said at least 82 people were killed and 534 wounded, but cautioned that the casualty figures were not final.

Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement that the humanitarian community in the country is "shocked and outraged" by the airstrikes. He condemned the "horrific attack" and reminded all parties to the conflict "that under international humanitarian law, they are obliged to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures." He called for an immediate investigation into the incident.

"The international community must exert pressure and influence on all parties to the conflict to ensure civilians are protected," McGoldrick said. "This violence against civilians in Yemen must stop immediately."

He said initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate that over 140 people were killed and more than 525 injured, McGoldrick said.

The incident has prompted the U.S. to initiate an immediate review of its already reduced support for the Saudi-led coalition, White House national security council spokesperson Ned Price said.
...
... and I quit here because
Obama administration arms sales offers to Saudi top $115 billion: report
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anyway
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Oct 2, 2016
A disgusting, cowardly attack by Yemeni/Houthi militants on a civilian-operated ship that was slated for humanitarian purposes. The Swift was allegedly bringing medical aid to the besieged city of Aden.

...
... and if you want, you may comment on what looks like double tapping of obviously civilian target:

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VIDEO: Watch 2nd of 4 Saudi airstrikes that attacked funeral hall in
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capital
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today killing/injuring 700+ civilians.

youtube:

FAKED?
 

delft

Brigadier
There has been many air attacks on funerals and wedding parties by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and US in Afghanistan and Iraq but none such reports have been coming from Syria. Does that mean that the Syrian and Russian air forces are more careful in trying to avoid civilian casualties?
 
...
UN: Yemeni officials indicate over 140 killed in airstrike

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related:
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(if it's a fake, blame the source:
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)​
 
here's what MilitaryTimes had to say:
Yemenis protest U.S.-backed coalition's airstrike
Thousands of Yemenis marched in the capital Sanaa on Sunday to protest an airstrike a day earlier by the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite Houthi rebels, one of the deadliest single attacks in the impoverished Arab country's relentless civil war.

The airstrike, which hit a funeral hall packed with hundreds of mourners, killed over 140 people. It was the latest in a string of bombings by the coalition that have struck hospitals, markets and other places where civilians congregate, in an effort to stamp out a rebel alliance battling the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The casualty toll, given by a U.N. official, also mentioned more than 525 wounded. The rebel-controlled Health Ministry gave a lower figure, saying that 115 bodies had been counted but that the number will likely rise because "charred remains" were still being identified. Of the 600 wounded it tallied, it said many cases were serious and at least 300 people needed treatment abroad.

Inside a hospital treating the wounded, survivors spoke of successive airstrikes during the funeral service, which was held for the father of an official from the rebel government controlling the capital.

"The strike hit the door, and the second fell nearly on top of us, and then the whole structure fell," said Hasaan Nagi, who lost a leg. "I was injured in the first hit, and of course I was praying to God and then a part of the metal roof started to fall on me."

At the demonstration outside the U.N. building in southern Sanaa, some blamed the organization for not ending the conflict and urged an independent investigation. Others brandished automatic weapons, while rebel supporters in the crowd called on people from the region to rise up and attack Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi military announced early Sunday it would launch an investigation into "reports about the regrettable and painful bombing" in Sanaa, without acknowledging that its coalition battling rebels in Yemen is the only force with air power in the conflict.

"The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescuer, Murad Tawfiq.

Yemeni officials said the dead and wounded included military and security officials from the ranks of the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies, loyalists of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi decried the attacks in a televised address, saying that they had been done with U.S. weapons and with a "green light" from Washington. Saleh also took to state TV to call on citizens to head to the Saudi border and attack soldiers there to avenge the deaths.

Saturday's funeral was held for Sheikh Ali al-Rawishan, the father of Galal al-Rawishan, the interior minister in the rebel-led government. Among those killed was Maj. Gen. Abdul-Qader Hilal, head of the capital's local council, officials said, while Galal al-Rawishan was seriously wounded.

In the aftermath of the strike, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall. Rescuers collected them in sacks. The strike left the building little more than a shell, with most of its walls and roof gone. Cars parked outside were mangled by the blast.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthi spokesman in Sanaa, angrily denounced the airstrike as the latest act of "genocide" by the Saudi-led coalition.

"The silence of the United Nations and the international community is the munition of the murderers," he said. "Those murderers will not escape divine justice."

In a statement early Sunday, Saudi Arabia said an investigation would be launched into the strike. Previous investigations by the Saudis have blamed Houthi or rebel forces for gathering near the sites of their attacks.

"The coalition supporting the legitimate government in Yemen has announced that it is aware of reports about the regrettable and painful bombing of the Great Hall in Sanaa today, which led to the killing and injuring of casualties, as reported," the statement read.

It added: "The coalition confirms that its troops have clear instructions not to target populated area and to avoid civilians."

Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement that the relief community in the country is "shocked and outraged" by the airstrikes. He condemned the "horrific attack" and reminded all parties "that under international humanitarian law, they are obliged to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures." He called for an immediate investigation into the incident.

"The international community must exert pressure and influence on all parties to the conflict to ensure civilians are protected," McGoldrick said. "This violence against civilians in Yemen must stop immediately."

Initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate that over 140 people were killed and more than 525 injured, McGoldrick said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the bombing in a statement Sunday, saying that "any deliberate attack against civilians is utterly unacceptable ... Those responsible for the attack must be brought to justice."

The strike also prompted outrage in Hadi's government, with Foreign Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi taking to social media to condemn it as a "crime."

The incident has led the U.S. to initiate an immediate review of its already reduced support for the Saudi-led coalition, White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. He warned that U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia "is not a blank check."

The United States has backed the coalition with multibillion-dollar arms sales and provided logistical and intelligence support, though it reportedly began pulling some soldiers from that task in August over concerns about civilian casualties in Saudi-led airstrikes.

Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his "deep concern" about the airstrike in telephone conversations Sunday with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir, according to a statement from State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner.

Kerry welcomed the Saudi commitment "to launch a thorough and immediate investigation of the strike" and reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities, Toner said. He said the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince stated his desire to institute a renewable 72-hour cease-fire as soon as possible, provided the Houthis agreed.

The Saudi-led coalition backs Hadi's government which, together with its own allies, is fighting the Houthis and Saleh loyalists in a civil war that broke out in 2014. It's a war largely overshadowed by the conflict against the Islamic State group elsewhere in the Middle East, though rights groups have mounted increased criticism of the Saudi-led airstrikes in recent months.

Saturday's attack comes after a Saudi-led coalition March 15 airstrike on a market in Yemen's northwestern city of Mastaba that killed at least 119 people. Saudi forces reportedly used U.S. munitions in that strike, which at the time was described as the second-deadliest of the Saudi campaign, after a July 2015 attack near a power plant in Mokha that killed at least 120 people.

A recent report by the U.N.'s human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, estimated that 3,799 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March of last year. The U.N. and rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly 3 million more in the Arab world's poorest country.

According to the report, coalition airstrikes were responsible for 60 percent of civilian deaths over a yearlong span starting in July last year. Just under one-quarter — 475 — civilian deaths were attributed to rebel forces like those loyal to Saleh, and another 113 to affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
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Not good. Why didn't the US immediately take out the missile launcher involved? It should do so but avoid getting dragged further into the conflict.

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WORLD NEWS | Mon Oct 10, 2016 | 2:07pm EDT
Yemen's Houthis respond to air strike with missile attack

By Mohammed Ghobari | SANAA
Yemen's Houthi movement launched a ballistic missile deep into Saudi Arabia and may have also fired on a U.S. warship, two days after an apparent Saudi-led air strike killed 140 mourners at a funeral attended by powerful tribal leaders.

Saturday's air strike ripped through a wake attended by some of the country's top political and security officials, outraging Yemeni society and potentially galvanizing powerful tribes to join the Houthis in opposing a Saudi-backed exiled government.

On Monday, a Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen said it had intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis at a military base in Taif in central Saudi Arabia, striking deeper then ever before in the latest in a series of more than a dozen missile attacks.

A missile was also fired at Marib in central Yemen, a base for pro-government militiamen and troops who have struggled to advance on the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.

A U.S. military spokesman said two missiles were fired from Houthi-held territory at the USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer sailing north of the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait. Neither missile hit the ship.

The Houthis denied firing at the U.S. ship.

Riyadh is leading a coalition of Arab states which began launching air strikes in Yemen 18 months ago to restore to power ousted President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, who was driven from the capital two years ago by the Houthis.

The Houthis, fighters from a Shi'ite sect that ruled a thousand-year kingdom in northern Yemen until 1962, are allied to Hadi's predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh. They have the support of many army units and control most of the north including the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed at least 10,000 people and brought parts of Yemen, by far the poorest country in the Arabian peninsula, to the brink of starvation. Both sides accuse the other of war crimes.

The Saudis say the Houthis are stooges of their enemy Iran. The Houthis say they have led a national revolt against a corrupt government, and the country is now being punished by its rich and aggressive Gulf Arab neighbors with U.S. political and military support.

Riyadh has denied responsibility for Saturday's air strike.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday Saudi Arabia should be held accountable for war crimes in Yemen.

"Not only Saudi Arabia, but also those who have supported the aggression by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemeni people should be held accountable for the war crimes perpetrated in Yemen over the past year and a half," Zarif was quoted as saying by Iranian state-funded Press TV on Monday in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Zarif also called on Ban to facilitate Iran sending a plane carrying humanitarian aides to Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies have launched thousands of air strikes against the Houthis and have imposed a naval blockade that has restricted access to imports for a country that depends on buying food abroad to feed itself.

This month the Houthis launched a missile at a ship from the United Arab Emirates and at government positions on a island at the strategic 20 km (12 mile)-wide Bab al-Mandab strait, which controls the mouth of the Red Sea, on the main shipping route from the Indian Ocean to Europe through the Suez Canal.

Among the dead in the funeral bombing on Saturday were notables straddling the country's many political divides, threatening to harden the will of powerful armed tribes around the capital who may make common cause with the Houthis.

"Despite all the massacres that have happened in this war, attacking a funeral is unprecedented and crosses a major red line in Yemeni culture," said Farea al-Muslimi, an analyst at the Sanaa Centre for Strategic studies.

"The air strikes killed powerful people, and their tribes and families will be drawn closer to the Houthis as they all try to retaliate."

(Reporting By Noah Browning and Mohammed Ghobari, additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, editing by Sami Aboudi and Peter Graff)
 

ohan_qwe

Junior Member
Are the rebels shooting at anything on radar or are they deliberately attacking USN?
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Do the rebels have so many/good missiles that they can sink a Burke?
 
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