Supporters And Opponents Of Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Report Senior Houthi Officer And Drone Expert Killed In U.S. Airstrike In Iraq; Telegram Channel Supporting Iraqi Militias Vows Revenge

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On August 4, 2024, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that a commander from Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) named Husayn 'Abdallah Mastour Al-Sha'bal was "martyred" in a U.S. strike in Iraq.[1]

Houthi Supporters Report Al-Sha'bal Was Killed Waging Jihad In Iraq

A supporter of the Houthis, Abu Badr Al-Sha'af, posted a photo of Al-Sha'bal in uniform on August 3, referring to him by the nom de guerre Abu Jihad Mastour and noting that he was a native of the Haydan district in Yemen's Sa'dah governorate. Al-Sha'af wrote that the Houthi commander was killed in Iraq while participating in the "battle of promised conquest and holy jihad," while he was "defending the honor of the ummah [Islamic nation], tightening with his blood the bonds of jihad between all free people of the ummah affiliated with the Resistance Axis."[2]

In an August 4 post, another Houthi supporter, Al-Karrar Al-Hamzi, reported that Al-Sha'bal was a brigadier general in the Houthi armed forces and was "martyred" in Iraq on July 30, while "carrying out his religious and jihadi duty against the enemies of Allah, America and Israel, and their helpers." Al-Hamzi shared a photo of Al-Sha'bal, two Houthi posters eulogizing him, and a billboard commemorating him that was apparently displayed in Yemen.[3]

Houthi supporter Usamah Hasan Sari wrote that Al-Sha'bal was born in the village of Maran, in the Haydan district. Claiming to have known the commander personally and to have had a "good relationship" with him, Sari congratulated him for being martyred a few days earlier in a "great battlefield," describing him as possessing "exceptional zeal for standing with the oppressed, treating them justly, and opposing the evildoers."[4]

Sari described Al-Sha'bal as a colonel, but posters eulogizing him and all other sources describe him as a brigadier general.

Anti-Houthi Yemeni Sources: Al-Sha'bal Was Drone Expert Killed In Strike On Hizbullah Brigades; Died In Iraq, Not Lebanon

On August 4, Moammar Al-Eryani, the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism for Yemen's internationally-recognized government, reported that Al-Sha'bal was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Jurf Al-Sakhr, south of Baghdad, which targeted a center for producing and testing drones operated by the Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades.[5] Noting that the Iraqi group is a designated terrorist organization, Al-Eryani wrote that the Houthi commander's death at one of its facilities demonstrates "the suspicious ties between the two terrorist entities and their operation as tools to implement the destructive policies of the Iranian regime and achieve its expansionist ambitions in the region," and urged international cooperation to combat Iran and its proxies.[6]

In an August 6 post, Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Al-Shalfi quoted a Houthi "security source," who confirmed that Al-Sha'bal was a drone expert who had worked with Iran-backed Iraqi militias since the beginning of their joint operations as part of the ongoing war against Israel, serving as "coordinator of joint operations." Al-Shalfi noted that American sources reported the Houthi officer was killed in a U.S. airstrike south of Baghdad, while overseeing forces who were trying to launch drones to attack U.S. forces.[7]

The Sidq Yemen news agency discussed Al-Sha'bal's killing, rejecting a report attributed to "the account of the Israeli Mossad" which claimed he was killed in southern Lebanon. Insisting that the Houthi commander was killed in Iraq, the news outlet noted that a banner eulogizing him was hung in Sanaa's Al-Sab'een Square on July 30, the same day as the U.S. strike on Iran-backed Iraqi militias in Jurf Al-Sakhr. Sidq Yemen quoted two Iraqi "security sources" as confirming that Al-Sha'bal was working with the drone team in Jurf Al-Sakhr, adding that there are several other Houthi commanders and operatives in Iraq.[8]

Telegram Channel Supporting Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias Vows Revenge For Death Of "Iraq's Guest"

On August 6, the "Mido" Telegram channel, which supports Iran-backed Iraqi militias, released two posters commemorating Hizbullah Brigades commander Abu Hassan Al-Maliki, killed in the U.S. airstrike, and the Houthi commander – implying that the two were killed together – and vowing revenge for both. Depicting the two slain commanders along with missiles and drones, the poster reads, in Arabic and English: "Oh, the revenge of Abu Hassan Al-Maliki! Oh Abu Jihad's revenge!" Al-Sha'bal is described in the poster's Arabic text as "Iraq's guest." Mido added in Arabic: "It is only a little. Expect more."[9]

Between June 6 and July 16, the Houthis claimed several joint attacks with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, targeting ships in the Red and Mediterranean Seas and Israeli cities.[10] According to an August 5 report by a Syrian opposition website, the Houthis have sent about 50 operatives into Syria from Iraq to carry out attacks, to be claimed in the name of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.[11]