The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched six ballistic missiles at the Yemeni city of Mocha last night, killing one person, according to the Yemeni Armed Forces. This was the latest attack on Mocha since the conflict in Yemen escalated last week, with the Houthis claiming to be attacking Saudi forces inside the country. Here’s what you should know about the group: The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), is one side of the Yemeni civil war. It emerged in the 1990s, when its leader, Hussein al-Houthi, launched the “Believing Youth,” a religious revival movement of a centuries-old subsect of Shiite Islam called Zaidism. The Zaidis ruled Yemen for centuries, but were marginalized under the Sunni regime that came to power after the 1962 civil war. The Al-Houthi movement was founded to represent the Zaidis and resist radical Sunnism, particularly the Wahhabi ideas of Saudi Arabia. His closest followers became known as the Houthis. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital, Sana’a, and overthrew the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia. The conflict escalated into a broader war in 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to push back the Houthis. Today, Sana’a remains under Houthi control, as does much of the west of the country. The Houthis are backed by Iran, which began increasing its aid to the group in 2014 as the civil war escalated and its rivalry with Saudi Arabia intensified. Iran has provided the group with weapons and technology for, among other things, sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a 2021 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” an alliance of anti-Israel and anti-Western regional militias backed by the Islamic Republic. US officials have been tracking iterative improvements in the range, accuracy and lethality of the Houthis’ domestically produced missiles. Initially, homegrown Houthi weapons were largely assembled from Iranian components smuggled into Yemen in pieces, an official familiar with US intelligence previously told CNN. They have previously used drones and anti-ship missiles to attack commercial ships (some of which are not believed to be linked to Israel), prompting the USS Carney, a warship in the Red Sea, to respond to distress calls.
