Houthi minister 'assassinated' in Yemeni capital

Hassan Zaid, minister of sport and youth for the Iran-backed rebels, was killed in a shooting in the militant-held capital

Exchanged Yemeni prisoners loyal to the Houthis shout slogans upon their arrival at Sanaa airport on the second day of a prisoner exchange between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, in Sanaa. EPA

A Houthi official was killed on Tuesday by gunmen in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, in a rare assassination of an official in the armed movement that controls the city.

Hassan Zaid, minister of sports and youth in the Houthi administration, died in hospital from his wounds after gunmen opened fire on his car in an area of the capital that houses embassies, two sources close to his family told Reuters.

“Criminal elements intercepted the minister of sports and youth’s vehicle, which his daughter was driving, and opened fire at it leading to his death after he was taken to the Yemeni-German Hospital,” the rebel-run Interior Ministry said.

Houthi-run Al Masirah television confirmed the killing, citing the group's interior ministry as saying Zaid was assassinated by "criminal elements" linked to a Saudi-led military coalition engaged in Yemen. It said Zaid's daughter was also in the car and was seriously injured.

The coalition has not commented on the attack.

The coalition has been fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthis for more than five years, since the movement ousted Yemen's internationally recognised government from Sanaa.

The incident comes after the rebels fired dozens of drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia in recent days.

Last year, a senior Houthi official and brother of the movement's leader was killed in Sanaa. The group blamed "treacherous hands" associated with the coalition, while the alliance said his death was caused by infighting.

In 2018, coalition air strikes on Hodeidah on Yemen's west coast killed the president of the Houthi-backed political body that runs most of northern Yemen.

The United Nations is trying to revive peace talks to end the war that has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.