Aden (South24)

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A senior officer of the Security Belt Forces has revealed major achievements by the forces in the past few days, including thwarting a plot to assassinate Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak in Aden.

Brigadier General Jalal Al-Rubaie, commander of the Security Belt Forces (SBF) in Aden, said on Tuesday (January 28) in a circulated video that a terrorist who planned to assassinate the Yemeni Prime Minister had been arrested.

The SBF is a force loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and carries out counter-terrorism and law enforcement activities in South Yemen.

Al-Rubaie did not reveal the terrorist's identity or provide any additional information. 

In another achievement by the force, he announced the capture of a terrorist cell that had planned to hijack a civilian plane at Aden International Airport along with a number of ministers.

The commander said that after hijacking the plane the terrorist cell was planning to take it towards Sanaa Airport, which is under the control of the Iran-backed Houthi militia. He said that the cell members are currently in prison for additional investigations and then will be put on trial.

He did not provide any additional details about the terror cell, but indicated that more details would be revealed in the coming days.

Al-Rubaie also announced that Ali Al-Naimi, a former assistant office director of the Prime Minister who had been dismissed and referred for investigation by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) on December 18, 2024, had been arrested.

He said: "Ali Al-Naimi was directly linked to Iran. He used to send reports on the work of the Council of Ministers and the PLC."

However, a security source told the South24 Center earlier that Ali Al-Naimi was in Cairo, Egypt.

The sources confirmed that the PLC had referred Al-Naimi to the security authorities for investigation as a result of his communicating with the Houthis.

In addition to Ali Al-Naimi, the PLC decision included the dismissal of Anis Baharitha, the Prime Minister’s office director, and referred him for investigation on charges of financial corruption. The PLC also announced the dismissal of the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Mutee Damaj.

The South24 Center was unable to obtain further details on these files.

In 2024, the security forces in Aden announced the arrest of cells and individuals affiliated with the Houthis, including of prominent security wanted man, Amjad Khaled.

Amjad Khaled is the commander of the Yemeni government’s Transport Brigade. He was sentenced to death in 2024 in connection with the deadly bombings in Aden in 2021 and the assassination of Southern military commander Thabet Jawas in 2022.