Top Al Houthi rebel leader Abdul Malik killed

Sana’a: Abdul Malik Al Houthi, the top leader of rebels in Sa’ada, has died of injuries sustained in an air strike two weeks ago, military and independent sources said on Sunday.

Various sources from Sa’ada said on Sunday that Abdul Malik Al Houthi was buried on Saturday in Al Malahaid area, west of Sa’ada.

He was buried next to the house of Ahmad Al Hadawi, who is very close to the Al Houthi family, military and independent sources said.

Despite the fact that the burial took place secretly to avoid any effect on the morale of the rebels still fighting the Yemeni army, the news of his death is spreading quickly everywhere in Sa’ada, the sources said.

Al Houthi side has neither denied nor confirmed these reports.

However, Yousif Al Madani, who is acting as the top leader instead of Abdul Malik, distributed leaflets signed by Abdul Malik to his field leaders saying, “Do not believe any propaganda about the death of our leader Abdul Malik,”, according to sources from Sa’ada.

The Yemeni army on its part, distributed leaflets all over Sa’ada urging the rebels to surrender. The army has also guaranteed that those surrendered will be allowed to return to their families and no harm will be done to them.

On December 17th, the army said warplanes carried out raids on the house of Kasem Mahdi Al Hafad in Wadi Al Hebal, Sakain district, where Abdul Malik and a number of rebels were staying. The army, at the time, said Abdul Malik was seriously injured. Al Houthi's office denied the news as untrue, but Abdul Malik, disappeared since then.

Who is Abdul Malik Al Houthi?

The 33-year old Abdul Malik Al Houthi was married with four children. He did not finish high school. He had some knowledge of the Zaidi sect. His brother, Hussain Al Houthi, was the founder of the rebellion against the government, and was killed in September 2004, during a three-month long war with the Yemeni army.

Their father, Badr Al Deen Al Houthi, was a well-known Zaidi scholar and taught him the principles of the Zaidi sect and encouraged him to focus on religious studies.

The father, Badr Al Deen Al Houthi, repeatedly declared that the rule of the Islamic Ummah must be in the hands of the descendents of the Prophet Mohammad. After Hussain was killed, the 90-year-old Badr Al Houthi handed the leadership to his son Abdul Malik in the fourth round of war in 2006.

Since then, Abdul Malik has led three wars against the Yemeni army.

Information from Sa'ada, obtained from military and independent sources, said, that after being injured by the air raid,  Abdul Malik was taken to the same cave in Marran where his brother Hussain was killed in 2004, for safe treatment. The cave is fortified to resist bombardments.