Yemen's Houthis detain defense minister in Lahij

SANAA

Shiite Houthi militants have detained Yemen's defense minister and a senior army commander in the country's southern Lahij province, a military source has said.

"Houthi militants backed by troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh have detained Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi and Faisal Ragab, commander of army's 199th Brigade, in Lahij," the source, requesting anonymity, told The Anadolu Agency.

The pair has since been taken to an unknown location, the source added, giving no further details.

Al-Subaihi arrived in the country's south earlier this month after fleeing capital Sanaa, where he had been put under house arrest by the Houthis.

President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who likewise fled to Aden last month, had hoped to reinstate his administration in the southern Aden province, but a recent Houthi advance into the province appears to have thwarted his plan.

The Houthis have remained in control of Sanaa since last September. In February of this year, they issued a constitutional declaration dissolving Yemen's elected parliament and establishing a national assembly.