The Demons’ Deal: Houthis Release Al-Qaeda Terrorists to Reinforce Their Frontlines

Yemeni security and media sources revealed on Thursday that the Houthi militias have released several members of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda to bolster their fighting ranks.

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This new deal between Al-Qaeda and the Houthi militias comes amid a series of U.S. strikes on the Houthis that have resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries among their fighters.

The sources reported that the Houthis released six members of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, some of whom had been imprisoned in Sanaa before the Houthi coup at the end of 2014.

Among those released is a commander named “Abu Musab Al-Rada’i” from Al-Bayda, and another named “Abu Mohsen Al-Awlaqi” from Shabwa, along with three members from a unit led by commander Hamza Al-Mashdali, who was killed in June 2024 due to an explosion in Marib Governorate.

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A security source said that the prisoner exchange deal between Al-Qaeda and the Houthis is part of an agreement that has been ongoing for the past three years.

According to the same source, the agreement includes a mutual non-aggression pact, prisoner swaps, and the transfer of weapons, including the Houthis supplying the terrorist organization with drones to use against legitimate government forces and the Southern Transitional Council.

A UN report had previously revealed that the opportunistic alliance between the Houthis and Al-Qaeda extends to cooperation in security and intelligence, with both groups providing safe havens for each other’s members, strengthening their strongholds, and coordinating efforts to target government-aligned forces.

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The report states that the Houthis released Al-Qaeda commander Sami Diyan, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2014, from Sanaa’s prisons, while Al-Qaeda dissolved its front in Al-Bayda against the Houthis.

It adds: “The Houthis supplied Al-Qaeda with four drones, thermal missiles, explosive devices, and training for the group’s operatives, while discussing the possibility of supporting attacks on maritime targets.”

Since the takeover of Sanaa in late 2014, Houthi militias have released over 400 leaders and members of Al-Qaeda and ISIS from prison, including: Abdul Rahim Al-Absi, Ahmed Qahtan, Al-Qarn Mahfouz Al-Qarn, Hisham Ramada, Abdullah Al-Habbari, Malhi Ahmed Jamil, Mohsen Al-Askari, Assam Al-Dheeb, and Majed Abdullah Sand.

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