• Yemeni government officials and military analysts say that the two Houthi leaders were severely injured in a series of explosions
• Other senior Houthi commanders are also believed to have been badly injured

Saeed Al-Batati

AL-MUKALLA: A second Houthi air force commander is believed to have died from injuries caused by a series of massive explosions at a militia-controlled base in the central province of Marib last week.

The Houthis said on Monday that Maj. Gen. Mohammed Hussein Saleh Al-Hamasi, former commander of the 140th Air Defense Brigade, had died, but did not specify how or where.

Al-Hamasi is the second military leader from the same division to die in less than a week.

On Sunday, it was announced that Ahmed Ali Al-Hamzi, commander of the militia’s Air Force and Air Defense Force, had died after “suffering from illness.”

Later, the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency reported that he died due to complications from a previous injury.

Yemeni government officials and military analysts say that the two Houthi leaders were severely injured in a series of explosions that tore through a militia-controlled base during weapons testing in Marib’s Serwah district last week.

Other senior Houthi commanders are also believed to have been badly injured.

Muammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s minister of information, said that the Houthis were testing new weaponry at the Serwah site, and that military specialists from Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia were also killed.

The Yemeni minister accused the Houthis of abusing the UN-brokered cease-fire to restock their arsenal with sophisticated weaponry from Iran, gather new military units on the front lines, recruit children, and prepare to return to the fight.

“The international community, the UN, and the permanent members of the Security Council demanded that they fulfill their legal responsibilities by condemning and confronting the terrorist activities of the Tehran regime and its role in undermining efforts to calm and bring peace to Yemen, as well as exerting real pressure on the Houthi militia,” Al-Eryani said on Twitter.

The UN-brokered truce went into force last year, resulting in a considerable drop in fighting at flashpoints throughout Yemen.

However, Yemenis say that the Houthis continue to stage military drills, mobilize personnel outside Taiz and Marib, smuggle weapons from Iran, launch missiles and drones at government-controlled areas, and target oil facilities in southern Yemen.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Kumaim, a Yemeni military analyst, told Arab News on Tuesday that the Houthis were testing a missile at a military location in Serwah’s Hab region when the initial explosion occurred.

Subsequent blasts continued for two days, killing “a large number” of Houthi and foreign military specialists.

Al-Kumaim said that the scale of the explosions confirmed that the Houthis had stockpiled weapons and explosives at the site.

The Houthis chose to test missiles and drones in Serwah because of its proximity to the energy-rich city of Marib, the goal of their halted offensive, he said.

Jouf, as well as oil fields and ports in Hadramout and Shabwa’s southern provinces, are also within striking distance, the analyst added.

“The Houthis concentrate their efforts in areas close to the battleground. Serwah is a good military and geographical location for the Houthis, allowing them to better manage the fight with drones and missiles, as well as withdraw to Sanaa if necessary,” Al-Kumaim said.