Yemeni Military Court Sentences 174 Houthi Leaders to Death, Including Abdul-Malik al-Houthi

Armed members of the Houthi movement visit the grave of Houthi senior official Saleh al-Sammad at al-Sabeen Square in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Armed members of the Houthi movement visit the grave of Houthi senior official Saleh al-Sammad at al-Sabeen Square in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Yemeni Military Court Sentences 174 Houthi Leaders to Death, Including Abdul-Malik al-Houthi

Armed members of the Houthi movement visit the grave of Houthi senior official Saleh al-Sammad at al-Sabeen Square in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Armed members of the Houthi movement visit the grave of Houthi senior official Saleh al-Sammad at al-Sabeen Square in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

A military court affiliated with the internationally recognized Yemeni government on Wednesday sentenced the leader of the Houthi group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and 173 other Houthi leaders to death.

The sentence, issued by a martial court in the northeastern governorate of Marib, also included Iran’s Revolutionary Guards leader Hassan Eyrlou, who is currently serving as Tehran’s ambassador to the Houthi self-proclaimed government in Sanaa.

The court also decided to classify the “Houthi group” as a criminal terrorist organization, ban its activities, disband and confiscate all its property, and remove all weapons, ammunition, and military equipment from it and hand it over to the Ministry of Defense.”

According to the court ruling, those sentenced to death would be executed by a firing squad.

The court also confiscated their money for involvement in the military coup against the regime and the legitimate and constitutional authorities, collaborating with Iran, and committing military and war crimes.

More so, the court called on the official government to develop a national strategy to eliminate all discrimination between Yemenis on the grounds of race, sect, color, or origin.

The court further decided that Iran would be prosecuted before the International Criminal Justice for its involvement in the militia’s crimes.

In July, a court in Marib held the initial session of the trial of Houthi leaders accused of masterminding the coup against the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in 2015 and the subsequent military campaign.

At the moment, Houthis are spearheading a new recruitment campaign among Sanaa tribes to replenish their ranks after having incurring heavy losses in battles in Marib.

During the past week, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group’s leaders in the tribal and rural districts surrounding the Houthi-run capital, Sanaa, held several meetings with tribal leaders to urge additional recruitment.



Hezbollah Official Says Will Not Intervene in Event of 'Limited' US Strikes on Iran

A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
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Hezbollah Official Says Will Not Intervene in Event of 'Limited' US Strikes on Iran

A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)

A Hezbollah official said Wednesday that the Lebanese militant group would not intervene militarily in the event of "limited" US strikes on its backer Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a "red line".

Lebanese authorities fear that Hezbollah would become involved if a potential US attack on Iran triggered a regional war, but the official told AFP on condition of anonymity: "In the event of limited US strikes on Iran, Hezbollah's position will be to not intervene militarily."


Syria Confirms Mass Escape of Militant Relatives from Al-Hol Camp

A general view of Al-Hol camp located in a desert region of Hasakeh province in Syria. Reuters file photo
A general view of Al-Hol camp located in a desert region of Hasakeh province in Syria. Reuters file photo
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Syria Confirms Mass Escape of Militant Relatives from Al-Hol Camp

A general view of Al-Hol camp located in a desert region of Hasakeh province in Syria. Reuters file photo
A general view of Al-Hol camp located in a desert region of Hasakeh province in Syria. Reuters file photo

Syria confirmed on Wednesday the mass escape of relatives of suspected ISIS group militants from the Al-Hol camp last month following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces who had overseen the facility.

"When our forces arrived, they found cases of collective escapes due to the camp having been opened up in a haphazard manner," interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told a press conference, AFP reported

Al-Hol, the largest camp for relatives of suspected ISIS militants in northeastern Syria, had been under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

But last month, Syrian troops drove Kurdish forces from swathes of the north, sparking questions over the fate of the ISIS prisoners and their families.

Under pressure, the SDF withdrew from the camp on January 20, with Syrian security forces taking control a few hours later.

"The SDF withdrew suddenly, without coordination and without informing" the Syrian authorities or the international anti-militant coalition beforehand, al-Baba said.

There was a "chaotic situation" after the Kurdish forces pulled out, he added, and "more than 138 breaches" have been discovered in the camp's 17-kilometre (11-mile) perimeter wall that allowed mass escapes.

After the Kurdish forces withdrew, thousands of women and children fled the camp to parts unknown.

Al-Hol housed 23,500 people, mostly Syrian and Iraqis, the ministry spokesman said.

Around 6,500 foreigners of 44 different nationalities lived in a high-security section of the camp.

Last week, Syrian authorities moved the families still at Al-Hol to another site in the country's north.

Before the Kurdish forces withdrew, the United States military had transferred more than 5,700 detained ISIS suspects from Syrian prisons to Iraq.

The US had previously announced it would transfer around 7,000 detainees.

ISIS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.

Backed by US-led forces, Iraq proclaimed the defeat of ISIS in the country in 2017, and the SDF ultimately beat back the group in Syria two years later.

The SDF went on to jail thousands of suspected militants and detain tens of thousands of their relatives in camps.


Australia Tells Families of Diplomats to Leave Israel, Lebanon

A billboard on the road to Beirut International Airport promoting tourism in Lebanon (AP).
A billboard on the road to Beirut International Airport promoting tourism in Lebanon (AP).
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Australia Tells Families of Diplomats to Leave Israel, Lebanon

A billboard on the road to Beirut International Airport promoting tourism in Lebanon (AP).
A billboard on the road to Beirut International Airport promoting tourism in Lebanon (AP).

The Australian government has told dependants of Australian diplomats in Israel and Lebanon to leave the two Middle East countries, citing a deteriorating security situation in the region, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The government has also offered voluntary departures to Australian diplomats' dependants in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar, it said on an official ministry X account, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying he would not allow the world's biggest sponsor of terrorism to have a nuclear weapon.

Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month as Washington builds up military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the region if it is attacked, but Tehran's top diplomat said on Tuesday that a deal with the US was "within reach" if diplomacy is prioritised.

The Australian government continues to advise citizens in Israel and Lebanon to consider leaving while commercial options are still available, the foreign ministry said.

The announcements were made in a series of posts on the foreign ministry's Smartraveller X account.