Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels Storm US Embassy in Yemen, Take Hostages: Report
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Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed the U.S. Embassy in Yemen and took hostages on Wednesday, reported The Washington Free Beacon on Thursday, citing U.S. officials.
According to the Free Beacon:
A group of Houthi rebels reportedly stormed the U.S. compound on Wednesday seeking “large quantities of equipment and materials,” according to regional reports translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. The raid comes just five days after the Houthis kidnapped Yemeni nationals who work for the U.S. embassy. “The alleged raid comes after the Houthis kidnapped three Yemeni nationals affiliated with the U.S. Embassy from one of the employee’s private residences in Sana’a on November 5,” according to MEMRI. At least 22 other Yemenis were kidnapped by the Houthis in recent weeks, “most of whom worked on the security staff guarding the embassy grounds,” according to MEMRI.
The State Department confirmed to the Free Beacon that the Yemeni staffers are being detained without explanation and that the Iran-backed militants stole property after breaching the American facility in Sana’a, which housed U.S. embassy staff prior to the suspension of operations there in 2015.
“The United States has been unceasing in its diplomatic efforts to secure their release,” a State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon. “The majority of the detained have been released, but the Houthis continue to detain additional Yemeni employees of the embassy.”
The Hill and The Washington Post on Thursday confirmed the Free Beacon’s reporting.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported, citing “two people familiar with the matter,” that “at least 25 Yemenis working for the U.S. in Sanaa have been detained in recent weeks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control the capital.”
In January, the then-outgoing Trump administration designated the Houthis as a terrorist group, only for the Biden administration to rescind that designation the following month in a move that critics said was meant to ease tensions between the United States and Iran, though those who backed the move said that the rescission was necessary to allow humanitarian assistance to go toward the war-torn country, which has been at war with Saudi Arabia since 2015.
