Yemen’s Houthis have announced the arrest of an alleged “American-Israeli spy cell,” just days after detaining about a dozen United Nations personnel. According to Abdel Hakim Al Khaiwani, the Houthis’ intelligence chief, the cell includes former staff of the US embassy in Yemen.
“The American-Israeli spy cell carried out espionage and sabotage activities in official and unofficial institutions for decades in favor of the enemy,” Al Khaiwani stated in a television broadcast. He accused members of the cell and American officers of exploiting their positions at the American embassy for sabotage activities.
Israeli government officials have not responded immediately, while the UN and the US State Department have yet to comment on the allegations.
Meanwhile, the UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed efforts to secure the release of 11 detained UN staff working for various UN agencies and the UN envoy for Yemen.
In related raids, armed Houthi intelligence officers detained three employees of the US-funded pro-democracy group National Democratic Institute and three employees of a local human rights group.
Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV released videos on its Telegram channel allegedly showing confessions of some of the arrested individuals, though Reuters could not independently verify the footage.
The Houthis, aligned with Iran, have attacked shipping in the Red Sea, claiming solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war. These actions have drawn airstrikes from the United States and Britain.
For the past three years, the Houthis have held around 20 Yemeni employees of the US embassy in Sanaa, which suspended operations in 2014.
