Saudi Senior Scholars Committee Condemns Houthi Militia Attacks on Civilian Facilities in Yemen

The General Secretariat of Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars condemned the Houthi militias’ targeting of civilian facilities in Yemen, describing the acts as “terrorism by all standards.” In a statement, the Secretariat clarified that “the Houthi terrorist militias’ targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in fraternal Yemen, and the resulting destabilization of security, incitement of discord, and aggression against the innocent and sacred sanctities, constitutes terrorism by all standards.” It added that “this reveals the extent to which these militias have embraced terrorism and brazenly violated the sanctities of God, and that they are no less dangerous than extremist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, indeed surpassing them in spreading corruption on earth and committing aggression against Muslims.” The Secretariat emphasized that the militias’ targeting of pilgrims heading to the Holy Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque (peace be upon him) constituted an even greater sin and aggression, but that God Almighty thwarted their plot by turning it against them, and that this was further countered by the vigilance of Saudi air defense and the competence of the Saudi armed forces. This stance follows the Houthi militias’ attack last Monday on the Ahmed Al-Sulaimani Training Center with three ballistic missiles while new recruits were undergoing their security training at the camp. The local authority in Shabwa initially reported that the attack killed more than 53 recruits and injured over 200 others, before later raising the death toll to 73 as searches for the missing continued.