The Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen said Monday that their political leader, Saleh al-Sammad, was killed last week in a Saudi-led airstrike.
Sammad was the most senior Houthi official to be killed by the coalition since it intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to try to defeat the Houthis after they drove the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Sammad was considered to be second on the coalition’s list of targets in Yemen, after the top Houthi leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi. A Saudi-owned broadcaster said there had been a $20 million bounty for information leading to Sammad’s capture.
The rebels said Sammad was “martyred” in the eastern province of Hodeida last Thursday.
“This crime won’t go unanswered,” rebel leader Houthi said.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the civil war. In the latest violence late Sunday, the rebels said a Saudi airstrike hit a wedding party that killed at least 20 people, including the bride.
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