The Yemeni Ministry of Interior was able to seize and dismantle terrorist cells affiliated with the Houthis in the interim capital, Aden, and the Lahj and Abyan governorates, last September. It said they were planning to target security and military leadership and vital installations, in addition to attacking military reinforcements and supply lines heading to the battle fronts.
The Yemeni Minister of the Interior, Major General Ibrahim Haidan, explained, during a press conference held in Aden, on Monday, that the most prominent of these cells is a network of 18 members, which was seized in Lahj Governorate on September 26, indicating that it was operating under the supervision of Houthi leaders, and its members received specialized training in a number of areas under the group’s control, including Saada, Dhamar, and Al-Hawban in Taiz Governorate.
Haidan added that investigations revealed that members of the network received training on planting explosive devices, using bombs, and carrying out operations targeting security and military figures and sites, pointing out that the network was divided into two groups, one for monitoring, surveillance, and gathering information, and the other for carrying out bombing and targeting operations.
The minister confirmed that the security and intelligence services were able to thwart the plans before they were implemented, noting that the cells were aiming to destabilize security and stability in the liberated governorates, confuse the situation on the battle fronts, and create conditions for the Houthis to control the cities.
He said, “The security services are waging a continuous battle that has not stopped for a single moment in the face of the terrorist plans of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, in order to enhance security and stability,” stressing that the victories achieved by all security units in securing the internal front represent a basic pillar and a real starting point towards completing the liberation battle and achieving the desired victory that our people have been looking forward to for more than a decade with bated breath.
Major General Haidan added: “We are waging our battle with the Houthi militia, which has made terrorist behavior its ideological methodology, and has broken away from the teachings of our true Islamic religion, until its terrorism has gone beyond targeting the interior and communities in the liberated governorates, and has reached the point of targeting the Islamic holy places, Mecca and Medina, which represent the holiest places for Muslims, and the hearth of the hearts of more than a billion Muslims around the world, and whose faith is linked to them. and their religious conscience.”
He pointed out that the Houthi militias were stripped of all customs, traditions, and authentic societal values, and used all despicable methods and means, as they recruited children and women, recruited African immigrants, and recruited the elderly, in order to achieve their terrorist and extremist goals of destabilizing security and stability and disturbing the tranquility and public tranquility of citizens in the liberated governorates.
He stressed that despite the unlimited support provided by the terrorist Houthi militia to these cells and the direct supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah experts in training their members, the readiness, vigilance and bravery of the heroes of the Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with their colleagues in the intelligence services, contributed to successively bringing down these cells and directing painful strikes on them during recent months. These strikes came to prevent the militia’s bets on these cells from causing chaos, destabilizing security and stability, and confusing the situation in the country. The fighting fronts in the liberated governorates in general, and the governorates of Aden, Lahj and Abyan in particular, and creating conditions for them to control the cities.
In Aden, the security services in Dar Saad District seized a member of the cell, who the ministry said was in possession of explosive devices and materials related to a plan to target security and military leaders and vital installations, while investigations revealed other targets that the cell intended to target within the city.
The Ministry also announced the seizure of a women's cell in Lahj on September 22, which it said was responsible for monitoring, tracking, recruiting, and carrying out subversive activities, in addition to the seizure of a two-person cell in the Lawdar District of Abyan Governorate at the beginning of the same month, on suspicion of planning to target security and military forces and citizens.
Haidan appreciated Saudi support for Yemen, especially in the security field, pointing to its role in strengthening the capabilities of the security services and achieving successes in confronting terrorist cells.
For his part, the Minister of State, Governor of Aden, Abdul Rahman Sheikh, said that the local authorities had taken security and precautionary measures to confront the repercussions of the displacement wave resulting from the Houthi escalation in the Hodeidah and Taiz governorates, explaining that the governorate had set up 800 tents equipped with the necessary services and facilities, and received about 7,000 displaced persons within half a month.
For his part, the Governor of Lahj, Murad Al-Halmi, indicated that coordination efforts between the security services in the governorates and the Ministry of Interior contributed to controlling these cells and thwarting the terrorist and sabotage acts that they intended to carry out, calling on everyone to sense responsibility and work hard to serve the security of the liberated governorates and prevent them from falling into the plans of the Houthi militias.
The Ministry of Interior confirmed that the accused will be referred to the competent judicial authorities after completing investigations and collecting evidence, in preparation for their trial.
