Rebel commander dies of ‘heart attack’: Houthis

<p>By Mohamed al-Samei</p> <p>SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Thursday announced that one of its commanders had died of a &quot;heart attack&quot; while Saudi media said he was killed in a military operation.</p> <p>Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour, leader of the Houthi administration in Sanaa, has publicly expressed condolences to the family of Ibrahim al-Shami, who had led the Houthis' air-defense forces.</p> <p>Bin Habtour praised the slain commander, saying he had “defended the homeland against Saudi and Emirati aggression”.</p> <p>According to the Houthi-run Saba News Agency, al-Shami died after suffering a heart attack.</p> <p>Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya television channel, however, said the rebel commander had been killed in an &quot;intelligence operation&quot; carried out by a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Houthis since 2015.</p> <p>&quot;Multiple sources in Sanaa confirm that al-Shami died under mysterious circumstances,&quot; the broadcaster claimed.</p> <p>It added: &quot;The body of al-Shami, who had been responsible for launching ballistic missiles and drones, was covertly taken to a hospital in Sanaa.”</p> <p>Claims made by both sides have yet to be independently verified.</p> <p>On Sunday, Mohamed Saleh Tammah, head of Yemen’s military intelligence apparatus, succumbed to injuries sustained last week in a Houthi drone attack.</p> <p>One week ago, four Yemeni soldiers were killed and 10 others injured — including high-ranking officers — in a Houthi drone attack in the southern Lahij province.</p> <p>Since 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have waged a massive military campaign against the Houthis, who had overrun much of Yemen — including capital Sanaa — one year earlier.</p>