By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-11-14

ADEN -- The Houthis are supplying al-Qaeda with drones and thermobaric weapons to carry out attacks against Yemen's government forces and international vessels in the Red Sea, officials and experts said.

The collusion between the two groups is noteworthy as they adhere to quite different ideologies, which each has been at pains to uphold as the singular 'right path,' often through use of force.

In a report submitted to the United Nations (UN) Security Council on October 11, a UN panel of experts pointed to the "opportunistic" relationship between the Houthis, al-Qaeda and its Somalia affiliate al-Shabaab.

The two groups provide safe havens for each other's fighters, strengthen their respective strongholds and coordinate efforts to target Yemeni forces, it said.

According to the report, the Houthis provided al-Qaeda with four drones, thermobaric weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and also provided training to al-Qaeda fighters.

The two groups coordinate their operations with each other directly, it said, and have "discussed the possibility of al-Qaeda providing support in attacks launched by the Houthis on maritime targets."

The report confirms the credibility of previous government warnings about ties between al-Qaeda and the Houthis, Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar al-Eryani said.

The Houthis' provision of drones, thermobaric weapons and explosive devices to al-Qaeda resulted in 49 attacks on Yemeni forces in Abyan and Shabwa provinces between early 2023 and July 2024, he said.

Troubling collusion

"There is a relationship of interests between the Houthis and al-Qaeda through the trade of contraband and the smuggling of weapons," Abaad Center for Strategic Studies director Abdul Salam Mohammed told Al-Fassel.

These items pass through government-controlled desert areas that are actually controlled by al-Qaeda, en route to the Houthis, he said.

Mohammed said the Houthis are arming al-Qaeda and other extremists in the "triangle" region between Shabwa, al-Bayda and Marib provinces.

The collusion between the two groups poses a threat to Yemen, political analyst Fares al-Beel told Al-Fassel.

"It will remain a stumbling block to the return of the state," he said, and will impact Yemen's economic recovery and growth as well as regional and international security.

"This game was started by Iran early on when it sent al-Qaeda leaders to Yemen and began the coordination process," al-Beel said.

This "is a dangerous indicator that Iran wants Yemen to remain its next soft ground in its military operations far from its borders," he added.

By supporting the Houthis and groups like al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab, the Iranian regime seeks to destabilize the region and international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, said military analyst Mohammed al-Kamim.

The news that the Houthis are supplying al-Qaeda with drones, weapons and training is a "terrifying development," he told Al-Fassel.