Yemen rebels and Hezbollah urge 'swift reprisals' for Soleimani killing
Sanaa. Yemen's pro-Tehran rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, and Tehran-backed Hezbollah group called Friday for "swift reprisals" for the killing of senior Iranian commander Major General Qasem Soleimani in a US strike in Baghdad.
"We condemn this killing and direct and swift reprisals are the answer," senior rebel political official Mohammed Ali al-Huthi tweeted.
The Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting the rebels since March 2015, accuses Iran of providing them with sophisticated weapons to use against Saudi airports and oil facilities, something Tehran denies.
In September, the Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for twin drone and missile strikes on Saudi oil facilities that briefly knocked out half the kingdom's output, sending world prices soaring.
The United States dismissed the rebel claim and alleged that it was Iran itself which orchestrated the attacks, something Tehran again denied.
The leader of Lebanon's Tehran-backed Hezbollah group on the other hand called for the death in a US strike of top Iranian commander Major General Qasem Soleimani to be avenged.
"Meting out the appropriate punishment to these criminal assassins... will be the responsibility and task of all resistance fighters worldwide," Hassan Nasrallah said in a statement.
"We who stayed by his side will follow in his footsteps and strive day and night to accomplish his goals," the leader of powerful Shiite militant group said.
"We will carry a flag on all battlefields and all fronts and we will step up the victories of the axis of resistance with the blessing of his pure blood," Nasrallah said.
The "axis of resistance" is a term that refers to an alliance formed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah to fight against Israel and the Western military presence in the region.
The heavily armed Hezbollah group controls whole neighbourhoods in Beirut and most of the south of Lebanon, including the area bordering Israel.
It also has fighters deployed in Syria and Iraq who were operating under Soleimani's command.
