3 Houthi-linked military commanders killed near Sanaa

SANAA, Yemen

Three military commanders affiliated with Yemen’s Shia Houthi militia were killed in Sanaa’s Nahm governorate, the Houthi-linked SABA news agency reported Tuesday.

According to the news agency, the three slain commanders were Brigadier-General Zeid Ahmed Saleh al-Faqih and his two assistants, Ali Mohamed Hamza and Ahmed Saleh al-Ali.

The trio was reportedly killed on Monday while repulsing an attack by Yemeni pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led air coalition, according to SABA.

Since the outbreak of the Yemen conflict nearly two years ago, the Houthis and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have generally refrained from reporting military losses sustained as a result of the fighting.

Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a wide-ranging air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.

*Reporting by Zakaria al-Kamaali; Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg