Yemeni Military Commander Survives Assassination Attempt in Aden

A photo circulated on social media of Saleh Ali Hassan.
A photo circulated on social media of Saleh Ali Hassan.
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Yemeni Military Commander Survives Assassination Attempt in Aden

A photo circulated on social media of Saleh Ali Hassan.
A photo circulated on social media of Saleh Ali Hassan.

A Yemeni military commander survived on Sunday an assassination attempt in the interim capital Aden.

Commander of joint operations at the Aden-based 4th Military Zone Saleh Ali Hassan's convoy was the target of a car bombing as it was traveling the main street in the al-Maala district.

His armored vehicle helped protect him and he was unharmed.

The booby-trapped car exploded as soon as his car approached, with witnesses telling Asharq Al-Awsat that the explosion rocked the main port area and the district's main police station.

A security official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the attack was similar to mode of operation of the Iran-backed Houthi militias.

They had used the same style of attack in previous assassinations, he said.

A police official remarked that the Aden attack was aimed at destabilizing the image of security in the interim capital and impact the positive atmosphere that has prevailed in wake of last month's intra-Yemeni consultations in Riyadh and the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council.

He added that the Houthis had the most to lose from the formation of the council and the most to gain from the destabilization in Aden and other government-held regions.

He revealed that the security agencies, in cooperation with the Saudi-led Arab coalition, have managed to thwart several plots and they are capable of thwarting more.

The Houthis will not succeed, he vowed.



Al-Sharaa Welcomes Abbas on First Visit to Damascus in 16 Years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
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Al-Sharaa Welcomes Abbas on First Visit to Damascus in 16 Years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on Friday, marking Abbas’s first visit to the Syrian capital in nearly 16 years.

Al-Sharaa greeted Abbas at the entrance of the Presidential Palace, and the two leaders walked side by side along a red carpet, according to an AFP correspondent.

Al-Sharaa held talks with Abbas and his accompanying delegation on Friday in Damascus, in the presence of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, the presidency said.

The visit is Abbas’s first to Syria since June 2009 and aims to discuss ways to strengthen Palestinian-Syrian ties, ease administrative procedures for Palestinians living in Syria, and address shared security concerns, a Syrian government source told AFP.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), around 560,000 Palestinians lived in Syria before the outbreak of conflict in 2011. The agency now estimates that number at about 438,000, with more than 40% internally displaced.

Abbas’s visit to Damascus carries exceptional significance due to the complex Palestinian landscape in Syria, observers in the capital told Germany’s DPA news agency.

Analysts noted that the visit comes against the backdrop of a sensitive file involving Palestinian factions that were previously aligned with the former regime and have since had their offices and military posts shut down.

Abbas is expected to raise several key issues, including bilateral relations, the situation of Palestinians in Syria—whose number is currently estimated at more than half a million—and the reconstruction of Yarmouk camp, widely considered the capital of the Palestinian diaspora.

Abbas is accompanied by Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, and committee member Ahmad Majdalani. It is his first trip to Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.

His last visit to Damascus was in 2009, when he met Assad as part of a regional tour that also included Saudi Arabia.

In the years following Syria’s civil war, Abbas maintained indirect contact with Damascus, sending messages to Assad through Palestinian officials—the most recent in June 2024.