Leading Houthi commander killed in northern Yemen: Army

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA, Yemen

A leading commander of the Shia Houthi militia group has been killed in Yemen’s northern Saada province, pro-government forces said Wednesday.

Ahmed al-Mutawakkil was killed in Saada’s Alab region during fierce clashes between the Yemeni army and Houthi militiamen, the army said in a statement without mentioning exactly when al-Mutawakkil was killed.

According to the same statement, al-Mutawakkil had been tasked by the militia with overseeing security in Houthi-held Saada.

The Houthis, for their part, have yet to comment on the army’s assertions.

In a related development Wednesday, three children were hurt in Yemen’s northern Maarib province in a Houthi rocket attack in the Al-Rawdah district, a local medical source and eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency.

While the Houthis control Maarib’s western Sarawah directorate, pro-government sources say Houthi militants often attack army positions in Maarib city, the provincial capital.

Yemen has remained in a state of chaos since 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing members of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

In March of 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and restoring the country’s internationally-recognized government.

Last year, Yemen’s government and the Houthi rebels entered into UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait in an effort to resolve the conflict, in which more than 10,000 people have been killed, according to UN figures.