Assigning assassins to kill specific Yemeni political and military figures has been common since the breakout of the civil war in 2015. While the war has de-escalated since April 2022, and several frontlines have been quiet, assassinations have not ceased.
Today, sources said that the director of the Military Industrialization Department, Major General Hassan bin Jalal Al-Abidi, was found dead in his apartment in Cairo.
According to the sources, he was found handcuffed with many stabs on his body. Al-Abidi had taken part in battles against the Houthi group on the Marib frontline over the past years.
His assassination shocked lots of Yemenis, who have called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate the crime and reveal the identity of the perpetrators.
On Friday, a bomb explosion in Aden's Daar Saad district killed two people and injured three civilians, a local security said. An improvised explosive device was attached to the vehicle of Colonel Ahmed Almarhaby, a military official of the Southern Transitional Council. When it detonated, Almarhaby was not inside the car. His son and one of his guards were killed in the blast, besides three civilian injuries. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far. However, security officials in Aden believe terror operatives were behind plotting and implementing the attack.
The Chief of Staff of the Yemeni Army, Saghir bin Aziz, survived an assassination attempt when a car bomb targeted his convoy in the Marib province in November last year. Bin Aziz accused the Houthi group of plotting the attack.
In July last year, unknown armed men assassinated Ali Al-Huseini, a member of Al-Islah Party, in Mocha city of Taiz. Al-Huseini was driving his car near his house when the armed men opened fire on him.
In November last year, the Police in Marib province revealed the details of a plot that aimed to assassinate a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, Major General Sultan Al-Arada, with highly explosive devices on the morning of Eid Al-Adha. However, the security authorities said they succeeded to foil the "terrorist plot" and arrest the perpetrators involved in the attempted attack. The authorities in Marib said the Houthi group was attempting to use its elements in Marib and assassinate Marib governor, Al-Arada.
On February 14, Tareq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, said forces in Mocha caught a Houthi gang that was attempting to target civilian festivals. He indicated that such individuals will not be included in the prisoner swap and they will be referred to the judiciary.
An investigation by the BBC revealed in January this year that 160 assassinations happened in Yemen between 2016 and 2018 in South Yemen. The investigation indicated that the UAE financed a team of assassins to target members belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood in southern Yemeni provinces.
However, an Emirati official denied the involvement of his country in assassinations that took place over the past years in South Yemen. The official said such allegations are "baseless," adding that the UAE supported counterterrorism operations at the request of the Yemeni government and international partners.
