Emergency search launched after four suspected Iranian operatives separated from a Houthi convoy moving toward the Red Sea front

Houthi authorities launched an emergency search operation after four men identified by internal sources as experts linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps disappeared following a strike in western Taiz, intelligence sources inside the group told Sheba Intelligence.

According to the sources, a Houthi emergency team later recovered two bodies, which were subsequently identified as belonging to two of the four suspected IRGC experts.

The fate of the other two remains unclear.

Sources could not confirm whether they were killed, wounded or captured during the incident.

Sheba Intelligence has not independently verified the identities of the four men or the circumstances in which the two recovered bodies were found.

Four Men Spotted Inside Houthi Convoy

A Yemeni military source told Sheba Intelligence that government forces had earlier received information about the arrival of a large Houthi convoy in Al-Barh, Maqbanah district, west of Taiz.

Among those travelling with the convoy were four men who drew attention because of their appearance and equipment.

The men were dressed in local Yemeni clothing, including ma'awiz wraps and jambiyas, attire commonly worn in Taiz and other parts of Yemen.

However, according to information obtained by Sheba Intelligence, their physical appearance and speech differed from the Yemeni fighters around them.

The source said they spoke broken Arabic with an accent described as Lebanese and were carrying several large bags and electronic devices.

Those observations alone do not establish their identities.

Internal Houthi sources later identified the four men as specialists linked to the IRGC.

Convoy Splits Near Al-Barh

According to the information obtained by Sheba Intelligence, the four men and their security escorts later separated from the main Houthi force.

They boarded a medium-sized bus and took a secondary route toward Jabal Habashi, while the larger convoy continued toward Mocha and the Red Sea front.

The Yemeni military source declined to disclose operational details surrounding what happened next.

However, the bus carrying the four men and their escorts was subsequently targeted after separating from the main convoy, according to the information available to Sheba Intelligence.

The precise method of attack remains unclear.

One possibility being examined is that the vehicle was hit in an airstrike, particularly as government aircraft have been operating against Houthi positions and reinforcements across western Taiz during the current fighting.

There is, however, no independent confirmation at this stage that an aircraft carried out the strike.

The Houthi search team later reached the area and recovered the bodies of two of the suspected experts, according to the intelligence sources.

No confirmed information has emerged regarding the whereabouts of the remaining two.

A Sensitive Corridor Between Taiz and Mocha

The incident comes amid an expanding battle across western and southern Taiz, Lahj and the approaches to Bab al-Mandab, where Houthi forces are trying to consolidate territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

The Houthis captured Mocha on September 10, followed by advances into Dhubab and Mayun Island, shifting the focus of fighting toward the surrounding highlands and the roads linking the coast with inland Taiz and Lahj. 

The terrain around Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi and Al-Wazi’iyah has become particularly important because routes running through these areas connect inland Houthi deployments with forces operating toward Mocha and the Bab al-Mandab front.

Government forces, meanwhile, are attempting to hold high ground and protect supply routes linking Taiz with southern Yemen and the remaining government-held positions overlooking approaches to the Red Sea. 

The wider battle has also included air operations.

Sheba Intelligence reported this week that aircraft struck Houthi positions and concentrations in Al-Akbush in Haifan district after an attempted infiltration toward the Hayjat al-Abd road, a critical connection between Taiz and Aden. The results of those strikes were not independently verified. 

Separate reporting from western Taiz has also described airstrikes against Houthi reinforcements along the Al-Barh–Mocha corridor, underscoring the growing use of air power against troop movements and logistical routes in the area.