Ali Hussein al-Houthi leads security meeting as the group prepares for threats involving snipers, explosives, drones and advanced technologies.

    Houthi security and intelligence agencies have approved a new set of measures to protect senior military and field commanders amid growing concerns over a possible assassination campaign using multiple methods, intelligence sources told Sheba Intelligence.

The measures were approved during a meeting bringing together senior officials from the group's intelligence, military security and police apparatuses. The meeting was led by Ali Hussein al-Houthi, also known as Abu Gaza, the son of Houthi movement founder Hussein al-Houthi and head of the group's Police Intelligence Service.

Ali Hussein al-Houthi has emerged as an increasingly visible figure within the group's security establishment. He became head of Police Intelligence in 2023, an apparatus involved in surveillance and internal monitoring. A UN Panel of Experts has also identified him as an Interior Ministry undersecretary and head of the new police intelligence unit.

According to Sheba Intelligence sources, the meeting focused specifically on potential assassination threats against military and field commanders rather than routine security precautions already in place.

Houthi intelligence assessments identified several possible methods. These include conventional assassinations using snipers and explosives inside Houthi-controlled cities, targeted attacks using drones, and operations involving what the group's intelligence services believe could be advanced or unconventional technologies.

The sources did not specify the nature of the technologies the Houthis believe could be used against their commanders.

Following the approval of the security matrix, a second meeting brought together Houthi officials and officers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to the sources, the meeting was intended to finalize protection and safety measures for military and field commanders.

The meeting follows earlier intelligence obtained by Sheba Intelligence showing a growing direct role for IRGC officers in Houthi military planning. On August 20, Sheba Intelligence reported that senior IRGC commander Abdul Reza Shahlai had met first-tier Houthi military leaders after touring several fronts, while Iranian military experts were subsequently dispatched to assess government defenses around Marib and the western coast. The latest meeting suggests that Iranian involvement extends beyond offensive planning to consultations over the protection and security of Houthi military commanders.

Counter-Drone Capabilities

The concern over drone-based assassinations comes as the Houthis are believed to be acquiring additional capabilities related to drone detection and electronic warfare.

Sheba Intelligence recently reported information indicating that equipment associated with radio-frequency detection and direction finding (RF Detection/Direction Finding – RF-DF) had been brought into Houthi-controlled territory. Such technology can be used to detect and locate radio-frequency emissions associated with drones and their control links and can form part of a broader counter-UAV architecture.

The latest intelligence raises the possibility that protecting Houthi commanders against drone attacks could be among the intended applications of these capabilities.

However, Sheba Intelligence has not established that the recently introduced equipment was acquired specifically for leadership protection, or that it has already been incorporated into the measures approved during the meetings.

The two meetings nevertheless point to a specific shift in the group's threat assessment: Houthi security agencies are preparing not only for conventional assassination attempts but also for targeted operations involving drones and technologies they believe could circumvent existing protection measures.