Operation Blow to the Head was a Yemeni military operation against the militants in the insurgent

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

i town of

Saada Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, translit=Ṣaʿda), a city and ancient capital in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the province of the same name, and the county seat of the county of the same name. The city is located in the ...

in the

Saada Governorate Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, Ṣaʿdah) is one of the governorates of Yemen. The governorate's seat and the largest city is Saada. It is the epicentre of Zaydism

. The Yemeni government troops began trying to capture the town on 13 January 2010. On that day, the Islamic militant Abdullah Mehdar was killed by Yemeni security forces.

Region insurgency

In June 2004, insurgency returned in

. The Yemeni government allegedly received help from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in controlling the insurgent force. From June to August 2004,

Houthis The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

battled with the Yemeni government under

Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi ( ar, حسين بدر الدين الحوثي; 20 August 1959 – 10 September 2004), also spelled Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi, was a Yemeni Zaidi religious, political and military leader, as well as former member o ...

. Hussein was killed in the insurgency by September. His brother,

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi Abdul-Malik Badruldeen al-Houthi ( ar, عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي) is a Yemeni politician and religious leader who serves as the leader of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah), a revolutionary movement principally made up of ...

took over command over the insurgents, and leads them today. The allies launched

Operation Scorched Earth Operation Scorched Earth (Arabic: عملية الأرض المحروقة) was the code-name of a Yemeni military offensive in the Saada Governorate that began in August 2009. It marked the fifth wave of violence during the ongoing insurgency ...

, but the rebels agreed to a short truce on 12 February 2010.

Operation

The Yemeni government troops led a military operation against the insurgent town of Saada. Abdullah Mehdar led the

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz� ...

insurgents against the government troops. Other Islamic rebels also fought against the Yemeni troops, with the fighting destroying much of the old Saada city. Many buildings were reduced to rubble. Mehdar was killed in a gunfight with security forces on the opening day of the conflict. 15 Houthis were killed in the next two days in the operation. On 19 January 2010, several rebels were killed by government forces in raids on Houthi hideouts in the old corner of the north. The operation ended after a truce was declared by both sides on 12 February 2010.

References

{{Al-Qaeda 2010 in Yemen Blow to the Head January 2010 events in Asia February 2010 events in Asia Blow to the Head Blow to the Head Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Saudi Arabia relations Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Saada Governorate