Photo Courtesy: AP
CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, the Houthis said Saturday. He was the most senior Houthi official killed in the Israeli-US campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels.
Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in Thursday’s strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added without providing details.
The premier was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a “routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year,” the Houthi statement said.
Thursday’s strike took place as the rebel-owned television station was broadcasting a speech by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the secretive leader of the rebel group, in which he was sharing updates on the latest Gaza developments and vowing retaliation against Israel. Senior Houthi officials used to gather to watch al-Houthi’s prerecorded speeches.
Al-Rahawi wasn’t part of the inner circle around al-Houthi that runs the military and strategic affairs of the group. His government, like the previous ones, was tasked with running the day-to-day civilian affairs in Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas.
