Bomb Blast Kills Brig. Gen. Yahya Wahish as Houthi Militia Targets His Convoy in Hudaydah

A bomb blast killed Brig. Gen. Yahya Wahish, the commander of the National Resistance Forces’ First Division, after the attack targeted his convoy in Al-Khawkhah District in Hudaydah Governorate on Saturday, according to the National Resistance Forces’ statement.

“On Saturday, the government-aligned National Resistance forces announced the killing of their First Brigade commander, Brig”

Al-Jazeera Net

The Anadolu Ajansı report said the National Resistance Forces accused the Houthis of orchestrating the attack and said preliminary data indicated the Houthi militia planted the explosive device as Brig. Gen. Wahish and his escorts were passing.

Al-Jazeera Net

Anadolu Ajansı also reported that the Yemeni government’s Minister of State Waleed al-Qudumi said Wahish was killed by a bomb blast on the road as his convoy passed through Al-Khawkhah District.

The Anadolu Ajansı account added that Wahish was killed along with one of his escorts, while two others were injured in the incident.

The same report placed the incident in a wider context of a war that began more than 11 years ago between government forces and Houthi elements controlling provinces and cities including Sana’a since September 21, 2014.

Al-Jazeera Net reported that the government-aligned National Resistance forces announced the killing of their First Brigade commander, Brig. Gen. Yahya Wahish, after an explosive device targeted his convoy in Al Khawkhah District in Hudaydah Governorate.

In that account, the National Resistance said the explosive device detonated as Brig. Gen. Wahish’s convoy was passing through Al Khawkhah, killing him instantly along with one of his escorts and injuring two others, while the Houthis had no immediate comment and no group had claimed responsibility.

Anadolu Ajansi

Al-Jazeera Net also quoted Walid Al-Qudumi confirming the killing and writing on X that Wahish’s stances would endure, saying "will remain in the hearts of the people of Taḥāmah and Yemen."

Anadolu Ajansı likewise described Waleed al-Qudumi’s X post and said the body had departed while the memory would remain, quoting: "The body has departed, but the positions, sacrifices, and the good memory will remain in the hearts of the people of Tehama and Yemen."

Both reports tied the accusation to the Houthis, with Anadolu Ajansı stating the National Resistance Forces accused the Houthis of orchestrating the attack and Al-Jazeera Net saying the statement accused Ansar Allah (the Houthis) of planting the explosive device.

Al-Ain News described the bombing as an assassination of a prominent military commander in southern Hudaydah, saying Brig. Gen. Yahya Al-Wahish was killed in the city of Al Khawkhah by a remotely detonated explosive device targeting his patrol and escorts.

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UNHCR

That report said the National Resistance confirmed the death of Brig. Gen. Al-Wahish in an attack it described as “treacherous,” and it accused the Iran-backed Houthis of standing behind the attack, adding that the explosive device bore the fingerprints of the insurgents.

Al-Ain News also said Brig. Gen. Al-Wahish was the commander of the First Division National Resistance and the commander of the 9th Giants Brigade, and it described him as one of Yemen’s most prominent field commanders who played a central role in liberating western coastal districts including Hais and Al Khawkhah.

Al-Jazeera Net placed the killing within a broader shift, saying Yemen has been experiencing a lull in the war since April 2022, even as the war began more than 11 years ago and the Houthi movement has controlled provinces and cities including the capital Sanaa since September 21, 2014.

Anadolu Ajansı added that the National Resistance Forces have their main headquarters in the strategic city of Mokha near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, and it said the group is led by Tariq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council and the nephew of the late former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.