Yemen's military intelligence agency chief injured in Houthi drone strike dies

Chief of Yemen's military intelligence agency Brigadier General Saleh Tamah injured in a Houthi drone strike against an army parade died of his wounds on Sunday, an official said.

The Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi group targeted the strategic military air base of Anad three days ago, killing six soldiers and injuring 20 others including high-ranking army commanders, Xinhua news agency reported citing officials.

Tamah was seriously injured along with the army's chief of staff and moved immediately to receive treatment in the southern port city of Aden, informed sources said.

According to medical sources based in Aden, the injuries of Tamah were very severe and he underwent a number of surgeries but died of his wounds earlier in the day.

General Tamah was born in 1950 in Lahj province, in Yemen's south, and appointed by the internationally-backed Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to lead the military intelligence agency last year.

Commander of the Fourth Regional Military Command General Fadhel Hassan and the Governor of Lahj, Ahmed Abdullah Turki are still receiving treatment in Aden.

The Houthis claimed responsibility and said through their official media that the drone attack on the military parade in Lahj came as a "response to the continued raids of Saudi aggression targeting innocent citizens."

Yemeni observers warned that the Houthi drone strike that targeted the Saudi-backed Yemeni army commanders could jeopardize the ongoing efforts aimed at ending the country's conflict peacefully.

They said that the Houthis deliberately attacked the pro-government military parade in an act aimed at putting the country's peace process in jeopardy and escalating the situation militarily just to get away from implementing Sweden's agreement.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

--IANS

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