AL-DHALEA: Yemeni Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Taher Al-Aqili came under armed attack during a field visit to Al-Dhalea Governorate on Tuesday, September 9, with several Yemeni outlets and Reuters correspondents reporting that his convoy was targeted and he was briefly besieged.
According to the South24 Center, protesters blocked streets in Al-Dhalea city and the Naqil Al-Rabd road with burning tires to oppose the minister’s visit. Gunfire was heard as tensions escalated, and video footage showed a vehicle from his convoy on fire and a military pickup damaged and disabled. A soldier and two children were wounded.
Citing military sources, Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni, which quoted Reuters’ Yemen correspondent, said dozens of armed men from Southern factions surrounded Camp Bin Aboud where Al-Aqili was present, and that fighters succeeded in capturing a senior aide and several guards.
The outlet added that the Southern Resistance threatened to hold the minister to exchange him for former Defense Minister Mohsen Al-Daeri who is detained in Saudi Arabia.
A separate report said three members of the minister’s entourage were detained during the unrest, which could not be independently verified. The official account said Al-Aqili visited frontlines in Al-Dhalea to inspect troop readiness against the Houthi militia, and a senior government source later claimed he was unharmed and had left for Aden.
No major Russian state agency such as TASS, RT or Sputnik has issued an independent confirmation so far. The “Russian media” reference circulating on Pakistani channels appears to be based on the Yemeni reports quoting Reuters.
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