Jeddah-Pro-Yemeni Forces killed rebel Abu Hamza al-Houthi during fierce battles in the Sabiha district, south of Yemen, a Yemeni General told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni Army was able to capture dozens of rebels in the southern regions, including high-ranking leaders who had removed their military costumes and had abandoned their personal identities before being arrested.
General Ahmed Saif, commander of the Fourth Military Region, said that the killing of Abu Hamza al-Houthi came during a counter-attack launched by the Armed Forces on the Mushawala region in the Sabiha district.
Saif also said that the army was capable to capture scores of Houthis and militias linked to their ally ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, amid ongoing attempts to reveal their identities.
In the meantime, field operations were launched at several fronts, while military Yemeni sources asserted seeing modern weapons used by the Houthis and the militias of former Saleh in the last couple of days.
The modern weapons include Russian-made heat seeking missiles, which can reach about 505 kilometers, in addition to U.S. sniper rifles that have a range of 3.5 kilometers.
According to military sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the modern weapons, particularly the heat seeking missiles, had helped the Houthi militias advance at several fronts, in a desperate attempt to compensate their previous losses and win back some regions in the besieged district.
General Saif told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Yemeni army had observed in the last military confrontations, Houthis using these weapons. Saif said these modern arms hold a significant military value for being able to destroy any military target, including armored tanks.
Therefore, he added: “These weapons could hit directly the opposite party.”
Saif said he believes that the military capabilities of the militias were enhanced during the armistice that was announced lately and during negotiations that took place in Kuwait last month before being halted on the occasion of the Eid holidays.
In a separate development, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz met in Makkah on Sunday evening with Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the envoy of the U.N. Secretary General, and discussed with him the latest developments in Yemen.