Yemeni Chief of Staff survives assassination attempt

News

Tue, 07-11-2023 07:49 PM, Aden

Marib (South24)

Today, the Yemeni Ministry of Defense for the internationally recognized government announced that the Yemeni Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Saghir bin Aziz, had survived an assassination attempt in Marib Governorate in North Yemen.

An official source in the Ministry of Defense told Saba News Agency, “A terrorist group targeted the convoy of the Chief of General Staff with a car bomb while he was on his way from the Al-Abr area [in Hadramout] to the city of Marib.”

The source indicated that a number of Bin Aziz's escorts had also been injured in the attack.

The ministry’s statement said: "The terrorist attack came in light of the ongoing escalation by the Houthi militias and their cells cooperating with terrorist organizations, all of which are supported by the Iranian regime."

"The Yemeni armed forces warned the Houthi militia and its terrorist allies and regional supporters of the consequences of such open criminal operations," the statement added.

The media center for the government forces reported that the Yemeni Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Mohsen Al-Daeri, had made a call to Saghir bin Aziz to check on his health following the attack.

They said the Minister of Defense expressed his "condemnation in the strongest terms of this incident, and emphasized Bin Aziz's role in confronting the terrorist Houthi militia. He also directed that an investigation be opened into the incident."

The Yemeni Ministry of Defense did not accuse a specific party of conducting the attack, nor did any party claim responsibility for it.

However, in a post on X, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani said that the Houthi militia was responsible for carrying out the attack.

According to the government newspaper September 26, Bin Aziz met with Presidential Leadership Council member Sultan al-Arada, who is also the governor of Marib, after the attack.

The newspaper reported that Al-Arada discussed with Bin Aziz "a brief report on the results of his foreign trip to the United States and Saudi Arabia, and what was discussed with his military counterparts in Washington and Riyadh."

The meeting also discussed Bin Aziz's recent visits to government military units in the Al-Jawf and Hajjah governorates, and government forces in the port of Midi in Hajjah and the Red Sea islands.

The explosion site. November 7, 2023 (local media)

Yemeni Chief of Staff survives assassination attempt