Houthi commander Hussein Abdullah Mastoor al-Shabal, who came from Yemen to Iraq to train pro-Iranian militias, was killed last week in a U.S. airstrike, along with four Hezbollah Brigades terrorists. According to reports, the target of the attack was a drone production and testing site.
The Washington Post reported on Monday that the American attack was aimed at terrorists who intended to attack U.S. forces. "The incident followed attacks on American positions in Iraq and Syria in recent days, officials have said, ending what had been months of relative calm between U.S. troops and the militias there," the Post reported.
Sources told the London-based Arabic Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper last week that the target of the attack was "one of the most dangerous sources of fire that Iran may use against Israel."
Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, pro-Iranian militias have been attacking U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq. According to the militias, there are two main reasons for the attacks: U.S. aid to Israel and the American refusal to withdraw from Iraq as previously demanded by the pro-Iranian militias.
The militias halted their attacks on American assets in Iraq and Syria for a few weeks, waiting for the results of the negotiations between Iraq and the U.S. regarding the withdrawal of American forces from the country. Recently, the militias resumed their campaign against U.S. targets. On Monday, several American soldiers were injured in a rocket attack on the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq.
The first news about al-Shabal's death was published on Sunday on the Iranian Al-Alam News Network. Yemeni sources reported that an official from Ansar Allah (the Houthis in Yemen), stated that Hussein Abdullah Mastoor al-Shabal was killed during a "mission outside Yemen." The Iranian news agency Tasnim added he was killed in the recent U.S. airstrike in Iraq.
The Al-Arabiya network reported on Monday that al-Shabal was a prominent Houthi commander, whose nickname is "Abu Jihad", and that he was killed in the American strikes that targeted a drone factory in Iraq. The area is controlled by the pro-Iranian militia Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq, which is considered part of the Al-Hashd al-Shaabi terror organization.
The American attack took place on July 30, on the same night as the assassination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, hours before the assassination of the head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network announced on the night of the attack that explosions were heard in the Babel district in central Iraq.