The Taiz Police spokesperson, Osama Al-Sharaabi, accused gunmen affiliated with Sheikh Hamoud Saeed Al-Mikhlafi of thwarting a security operation aimed at arresting the prime suspect in the assassination of Iftihan Al-Mashhari, director of the city’s Cleaning and Improvement Office.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Al-Sharaabi stated that Mohammed Saeed Al-Mikhlafi—brother of Sheikh Hamoud and a commander in the 170th Air Defense Brigade—blocked a security unit from raiding a house in the Al-Rawdhah neighborhood, following confirmed intelligence that the suspect was inside. The armed group reportedly prevented the force from carrying out its mission.
“We gave the Taiz Military Axis and the 170th Brigade sufficient time to hand over the prime suspect in Al-Mashhari’s case, but unfortunately there has been no response,” Al-Sharaabi said, stressing that the security campaign will continue.
The police spokesperson urged the leadership of the Military Axis and Sheikh Hamoud Al-Mikhlafi to honor their commitments to cooperate with law enforcement and facilitate its operations, holding them fully responsible for any obstruction. He also called on the people of Taiz to support the campaign and assist in eliminating hotspots of lawlessness and in bringing those harboring fugitives to justice.
