Click to see full-size map.
On March 23, a senior officer of the Yemeni Armed Forces was assassinated near the southern city of Aden, the temporary home to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
Sources with knowledge on the incident told the UAE-based al-Ain News that the officer, Maj. Gen. Thabet Jawas, was killed when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) driven by two suicide bomber exploded next to his motorcade as it was passing in the Green City to the north of Aden. The explosion claimed the lives of many of Jawas’ bodyguards.
Brig. Gen. Muhammad Abdullah al-Sani, Governor of al-Madaribah Wa al-Arah district in the province of Lahij, who was with Maj. Gen. Jawas at the time survived the explosion.
#عدن اغتيال القائد العسكري ثابت جواس ومرافقيه في المدينه الخضراء تمت عمليه الاغتيال بواسطة سياره مفخخه.
انا لله وانا اليه راجعون#فريق_مجاهدون pic.twitter.com/vafqbJSOoJ— ŜĤĮŘẸẸN🍃 (@bentelshikh) March 23, 2022
Maj. Gen. Jawas was the commander of al-Anad Air Base as well as the 131st Infantry Brigade. The senior officer was reportedly very close to the Saudi-led coalition.
According to Yemeni sources, Maj. Gen. Jawas played a key role in the crackdown on the Houthis (Ansar Allah) prior to the breakout of the civil war in Yemen some seven years ago. In 2004, Jawas led a military operation that ended with the killing of Hussein al-Houthi, the founder of Ansar Allah and the elder brother of the group’s current leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
While it is possible that the Houthis were behind the assassination of Maj. Gen. Jawas, other sides may be responsible. The involvement of suicide bombers, if confirmed, could mean that ISIS was behind the hit.
The situation in Aden has been unstable. Last year, the city experienced a series of bombings and assassinations, some of which were blamed on forces backed by Saudi Arabia and others backed by the United Arab Emirates.
