Mideast Insurgents Enter the Age of Drone Warfare by Dion Nissenbaum and Warren P. Strobel – Wall Street Journal
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched armed drone attacks with far more precision and reach than the U.S. and its Gulf allies have publicly acknowledged, people familiar with the matter said, showing how readily-available technology is creating new dangers for America and its allies in the Middle East.
A Houthi drone hit a Saudi Aramco oil refinery outside the capital of Riyadh in July, according to a company executive and a Gulf official. That month, a Houthi drone evaded Emirati air defenses and exploded at Abu Dhabi’s international airport in the United Arab Emirates, according to people familiar with the matter.
The airport attack damaged a truck and delayed some flights—but its reach and brazen nature unnerved the Emirati government, which denied it took place, a story that the U.S. supported, according to former U.S. officials. Saudi leaders as well publicly denied Houthi claims about the Aramco attack, which also did limited damage…