Who is Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the shadowy leader of Houthis?

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are led by an enigmatic leader whom many say they have never laid eyes on in person.

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, 44, took over as leader of the terror group after his brother, Hussein, was killed in 2004, according to the Middle East Eye.

Over the past two decades, al-Houthi transformed the once-ragtag group – which is made up of mostly Zaydi Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam – into an Iran-backed militia that now controls most of Yemen.

Most recently, the Houthis have stoked fears of a region-wide war in the Middle East by attacking shipping vessels in the Red Sea during the Israel-Hamas war and prompting the US to launch retaliatory strikes, includingThursday. 

This week’s attack by the US and UK struck five regions of Yemen under Houthi control – killing at least five people and wounding six others.

A senior Houthi official, Hussein al-Ezzi, vowed that the US and Britain would “pay a heavy price” for the strikes. 

Under Al-Houthi’s direction, the rebel group has spent the last 10 years battling Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition in a proxy war that has killed tens of thousands of people and decimated the nation’s economy.

The Houthis boast a massive weapons arsenal and tens of thousands of fighters.

Despite Iran’s repeated denials that the group receives support from Tehran, those familiar with the region consider the Houthis part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” along with the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah terror groups – but note that al-Houthi is not as reliant on Iran’s support as Hezbollah.

“[Al-Houthi] managed to transform a rural militia mostly engaged in insurgency tactics into one of the most resilient non-state armed groups of the region,” said Ludovico Carlino, principal analyst for Country Risk, Middle East and North Africa at HIS Markit, to Reuters.

Peter Salisbury, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group, added, “[Al-Houthi] is less beholden to the Iranians than Hezbollah is.

“In other words, he is not told to do x, y and z and he does it.”

Al-Houthi – whose family traces its lineage to the prophet Mohammed – is known for rarely staying in one place and never meets with the media.

Foreign officials who had dealt with the Houthis since the start of the conflict in Yemen have never met him face-to-face, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Those looking to meet with al-Houthi are taken to safehouses in the stronghold of Sanaa, where he only appears by screen in secure rooms.

But al-Houthi’s inscrutable reputation belies the brutality at the core of his regime, experts say.

In late 2017, the Houthis assassinated former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh after he decamped to the Saudi-led opposition.

The group currently runs a strict military state to maintain their grip on the country.

“The Houthis also rely on a very brutal internal intelligence apparatus, suppressing any kind of dissent,” Carlino explained.

With Post wires