Yemeni chief of Intelligence: Houthis broke into and looted my house

The head of the Yemeni National Security Agency, Ali Al-Ahmadi, said on Thursday that gunmen who belong to Houthi group stormed his house, staying inside for four days and “looting its belongings,” Anadolu news agency reported.

Al-Ahmadi reportedly told the official Yemeni news agency that a group of Houthis had broken into his home when the civil guard, some guests and people of his neighbourhood were present inside, explaining that afterwards “the Houthis looted some of the house’s belongings and left it after staying inside for four days.”

The intelligence head also denied the presence of any of Houthi prisoners in the national security headquarters in Sanaa.

Meanwhile, the organisation of Ansar Al-Sharia, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, announced on Thursday that it had executed Mohammed Taher Al-Shami, the Yemeni director of intelligence in the province of al-Dale’, in the south, as well as his companions.

The organisation said, in a brief statement published on the social networking site Twitter, that the execution operation took place in Reda’ in Al-Baida’ governorate, which is located in central Yemen.

The group posted an image showing the moment of execution for the five captives while inside a hole in the ground, saying it was “Al-Shami and his companions”.

Last Monday, the organisation announced that its fighters succeeded to capture eight Houthi supporters, including the Yemeni intelligence branch manager in the city of Damt in the province of Al-Dale’, Mohammed Taher Al-Shami, and his two sons.

The Yemeni capital Sanaa fell to Houthi militants on Sunday, when the group took control over the most vital institutions there, particularly the Council of Ministers, the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence and the main buildings for radio and television, after weeks of protests by Houthis and their supporters who were demanding for the government to step down and reconsider its decision to remove fuel subsidies.

To deescalate the crisis, the Yemeni president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, signed an agreement on Sunday with the Houthi group, in the presence of the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Jamal bin Omar, Houthi representatives and some Yemeni political forces.

The main terms of the agreement are: the formation of a technocratic government within a period of one month, the appointment of a Houthi adviser to the president and another representing the southern peaceful movement and reducing the price of fuel.