“Preventive” security: the secret weapon of the Houthis

Yemen's Houthis have recruited a multi-tasking secret security force, known as “preventive security”, to get rid of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Sanaa security officials told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The force receives direct orders from Houthi leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi.

For months, its members monitored the former president's movements, including his phone calls and meetings. They were also collecting information on pro-Saleh forces and the type of weapons they possess.

Sources claimed that the Houthis, through its secret body, sought to buy and rent hundreds of houses in areas close to the residence of Saleh, his relatives and his close leaders. Inside these houses, the Houthis stored weapons and sheltered hundreds of armed men until the time came to attack Saleh and his collaborators.

Surveillance devices were installed in Saleh's house, and some of his guards and media crew were bribed to monitor his every move. They also greatly contributed to the raid on his house, as well as to his assassination, along with a number of his collaborators, on December 3. These same parties invented a false story that Saleh was killed while he was being killed. fleeing Sanaa.

There is very little information about the Houthis' “preventive” security force.

The Houthis formed this security force in his hometown of Saada. It was trained by Iranian intelligence and “Hezbollah”, before its activity spread to all provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

Sources stressed that the operations of this security force are not limited to rivals, but also include Houthi members. He monitors the movements of these figures and presents daily reports about them to the militia leader.