Al Houthis.

This is coolbert:

"politics makes strange bedfellows"

Yes - - politics makes for strange bedfellows - - and so does war for that matter.

Has everyone been following the latest news regarding the insurgency, the guerrilla campaign, the terrorist movement in Yemen?

A local conflict between a Yemeni tribe, Shia oriented, and the Sunni central government.

A local conflict that has begun to assume regional dimensions. Bringing into play some unusual and unexpected players.

Saudi territory has been violated and Saudi military forces in response have entered the fray!!

This is the Al Houthi rebellion, often referred to as the Sa'dah insurgency.

"Battle rages on as Saudis and al Houthis take prisoners"

"Al Houthis say Saudi air force hit villages"

"The Saudi air force launched intense attacks on al Malahidh district, the villages around Maran, Souq al Husamah and the villages on the border,” Mr Abdulsalam said."

"The Saudi operation comes two days after the rebels attacked Jabal Dukhan territory inside the Saudi border, which according to Saudi officials killed a Saudi border guard and injured 11 others."

NOT ONLY Saudi aerial attacks on the insurgents, but Saudi combat aircraft SHOT-DOWN by shoulder fired MANPAD surface-air-missiles!!

Unusual and unexpected players to include Al Qaeda elements [Sunni] located in Yemen allied with the Yemeni central government on one side, Hezbollah [Shia] fighters from Lebanon aiding and abetting the al Houthis rebels!

Who would have thought it??

Already among the combatants are found:

* Yemeni military. [forces of the central government]
* Sunni paramilitaries.
* Al-Qaeda. [?]
* Saudi Arabia military.
* Jordanian military.
* Egypt. [?]
* U.S. Navy. [?]

* Shabab al-Muomineen. [Al Houthis]

Alleged support:

* Iran.
* Hezbollah.

This fracas bears watching? Could turn into a much larger regional conflict with far-reaching ramifications? Time will tell.

Bear in mind too that the ancestral home of the Bin Laden family is Yemen. It has been reported a long time ago now, just after 9/11, that Osama had fled Afghan and surreptitiously made his way to the most remotest and desolate area of Yemen, but an area from which his clan originated. Sunni and Shia are in a mortal millennial long feud that never ceases, this Yemeni "affair" being only the most recent and current manifestation of the conflict.

coolbert.