US destroys Yemen’s air defense systems: Security Official

SANAA, Feb. 27 (YPA) – Yemen’s air defense systems were destroyed through pressures that exerted by the top US officials for several years on the Yemeni government in the former regime led by Ali Abdullah Saleh, a security official said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement affirmed that destruction of the systems came under the pretext of US fear that Al Qaeda elements might seize and use the air defense system to attack on civilian airports.

In 2004, the American delegation, in cooperation with Ammar Saleh, began collecting and destroying the missiles helping the company Ronco, which is specialized in dealing with explosives.

“The first batch of air defense system, including 1078 SA-7 GRAIL (Strela), is a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile system and 1161 other missiles,SAM-14, 16, 62,20, was destroyed with 52 batteries in al-Jaddan area of Marib province in 2005, and second batch, 102 missiles, SAM, was destroyed in 2009 in Halhalan valley in the same province,” the statement explained.

The official affirmed that 1263 air defense missiles of the Yemeni army with 103 batteries were destroyed by the agreement that signed between the United States and the traitor Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The American delegation included the U.S. Department of State, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) Dennis Hadrick, liaison officer Santo Polisi, and foreign affairs in the officer,Laurie Freeman.

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