Report: Houthis Plant Wooden Decoy Missiles In Populated Areas To Draw Enemy Fire And Then Accuse The Coalition Of Targeting Civilians

Al-Arabiya Network correspondent Hany Al-Sufyan said that the Houthis planted wooden missiles as decoys among civilian homes in order to draw coalition airforce fire to populated areas and then accuse it of bombing people's homes. He said this in a report from Hajjah Governorate, Yemen that aired on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) on March 16, 2021. Al-Sufyan said that the Houthis used "all kinds of tricks" in addition to employing Katyusha rockets, mortar shells, detonating buildings, and planting mines. He clarified that the coalition was not fooled by these decoys.

Hany Al-Sufyan: "What drew our attention in this ravaged village is that the Houthi Militias were using all kinds of tricks. In addition to firing Katyusha rockets and mortars, as well as detonating (buildings) and planting hundreds of mines, they erected these two missiles as decoys. These are wooden missiles of course, created by the Houthi militias who placed them among people's homes, so that the coalition airforce would target them, and then the coalition could be accused of bombing people's homes. However, the coalition airforce has the technology to detect these decoys. The coalition knows full well that these are merely wooden missiles, rather than real missiles."