A Yemeni man identified only as Hussein H. was arrested in Dachau, near Munich, on Thursday on suspicion of being a member of the Houthi terrorist organization.
Prosecutors accused him of joining the Houthis in 2022, undergoing ideological and military training in his homeland, and briefly engaging in armed conflict for the group in Yemen’s Marib region in early 2023.
The suspect, whose last name was not disclosed due to German privacy laws, will remain in custody pending a possible indictment, according to AP.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have been terrorizing the shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for years, disrupting global trade. They have also fired ballistic missiles and drones at Israel after declaring “solidarity” with Hamas in Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The Houthis, who are predominantly Shi’ites, have gained control of significant portions of northern and western Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, following more than a decade of brutal civil war.
On May 6, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would halt strikes on the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, saying the group had “agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.”
“They said please don’t bomb us anymore, and we’re not going to attack your ships,” the president told reporters at the time. “I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.”
The group “capitulated,” Trump said.
But the Houthis vowed to continue attacking Israel-linked targets.
