Yemen Monitor | Al-Khokha | Special Report:
A military and security investigation committee of the National Resistance Forces on Yemen’s western coast has revealed details of the arrest of two key suspects belonging to a cell accused of assassinating First Brigade Commander Brigadier General Yahya Wahish, less than 24 hours after his killing in the city of Al-Khokha, south of Al-HudaIdah Governorate in western Yemen.
In a statement broadcast early Tuesday by Republic TV, affiliated with the National Resistance Forces (led by Presidential Leadership Council member Tariq Saleh), and monitored by Yemen Monitor, the committee said that military and security forces successfully tracked down and arrested the two main perpetrators while they were attempting to flee by sea from Al-Khokha District.
The statement noted that the operation was carried out with continuous support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through an “advanced operations room at the Mocha base,” adding that investigations and pursuit operations are still ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects linked to the case.
The seven-member investigation committee included several military and security officials who appeared in the video statement, among them Deputy Commander of the First Brigade Brigadier General Suleiman Mansar, Al-Hudaidah Police Director Brigadier General Najeeb Waraq, and Head of Military Intelligence for the National Resistance Forces Brigadier General Ali Juwailan.
According to the committee’s statement, military and security agencies immediately implemented a strict and comprehensive security plan upon receiving orders to form the committee. The plan aimed to secure the crime scene and prevent suspects from escaping.
The committee began by sealing off the crime scene so that military engineering teams could conduct a detailed technical examination and collect evidence. At the same time, all surveillance camera recordings from the main and secondary roads in Al-Khokha were gathered and transferred to a specialized technical team for high-precision analysis of images and video footage.
The measures were not limited to land operations. Immediate and decisive instructions were also issued to the Coast Guard to prevent any boats from departing from fishing landing sites. Authorities additionally reviewed records of all arrivals and departures from those sites during the week preceding the crime.
The committee stated that preliminary interrogations of the two suspects resulted in explicit confessions to carrying out the assassination of Brigadier General Yahya Wahish and identifying those behind the operation. The suspects reportedly admitted to committing the assassination and confirmed their direct operational ties to the Houthi movement.
The committee further stated that the Houthis had attempted to use what it described as “criminal cells” to create a security breach and destabilize liberated areas along the western coast, adding that “the vigilance and rapid response of the security services thwarted the plot at its inception.”
The committee announced a final decision to complete legal investigations and refer the suspects directly to the competent judicial authorities so they may face justice in accordance with Islamic law and national legislation.
It also stressed that the suspects would not be included in any future prisoner-exchange agreements, stating that “bloodshed cannot be erased through political exchanges.”
On Saturday, Brigadier General Yahya Abdullah Wahish, commander of the First Brigade of the National Resistance Forces, was killed when an explosive device targeted him in Al-Khokha District, south of Al-Hudaidah Governorate in western Yemen.
Interesting that a prisoner-swap deal was ruled out. What do you think this means for future negotiations?