Confessions reveal Houthi spying on Aden Airport before 2020 attack

Security Belt Forces, affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC), announced yesterday the arrest of a Houthi operative accused of being part of a spy cell monitoring air traffic at Aden International Airport and activity at the Yemeni Ministry of Interior.

In a video aired by Aden Independent Channel, Abdo Mohammed Al-Badani, identified as a security officer within Houthi intelligence, confessed to his role in relaying sensitive information about Aden International Airport to the Houthis.

Al-Badani said he sent coordinates and data on airport activity to Abu Ali Al-Hakim, the head of Houthi military intelligence, who has been under UN Security Council sanctions since 2014.

He disclosed that a house was rented in the Al-Arish area of the Khormaksar district, near Aden Airport, where surveillance cameras were installed and connected directly to Abu Ali Al-Hakim in Sanaa. He also admitted to tracking promotions and officer lists in the Ministry of Interior in Aden and forwarding them to Houthi leadership.

Al-Badani stated that these tasks were assigned to him in 2022, succeeding another cell that had monitored the airport prior to the December 2020 Houthi missile attack, which targeted the Yemeni government upon its arrival at the airport.

The Security Belt Forces added that Al-Badani had previously worked for the Houthi police in Dhamar Governorate and has since been referred to judicial authorities.

It is worth noting that the Houthis did not officially claim responsibility for the 2020 attack on Aden Airport, though a UN Security Council experts’ report confirmed that the missiles used matched those in the Houthi arsenal. The attack killed about 20 people, including journalists and airport staff, and injured more than 100.

On August 28, Southern security forces arrested two senior Houthi commanders at Aden Airport after they returned on a flight from Egypt.

In recent years, Southern security forces have detained dozens of Houthi spies involved with cells linked to assassinations and bombings in Aden and other governorates.