Sources reveal the strike hit the Technical Directorate responsible for espionage, secure military communications and battlefield intelligence support, killing Iranian experts and specialized personnel.

Intelligence sources have revealed to Sheba Intelligence that the coalition airstrike carried out on October 8 against a Houthi intelligence facility in the Al-Anab neighborhood of Sanaa targeted the Technical Directorate of the Houthi Security and Intelligence Service.

The sources said all technicians and specialists present at the facility when it was struck were killed, including Iranian experts working within the agency’s technical support system.

They confirmed that Iranian experts were among the casualties but could not determine their exact number. At least ten Iranian specialists had been working within the agency’s broader technical support structure, according to the sources.

The identities of those killed and the total death toll have not been independently verified.

Espionage and Military Communications

The Technical Directorate was responsible for managing espionage operations, operating secure military communications through fiber-optic networks, and exchanging intelligence between Houthi forces across different battlefronts, the sources said.

It also provided technical and intelligence support to Houthi fighters and monitored, intercepted and sought to penetrate communications used by Yemeni government forces.

According to the sources, breaches of government military communications and operations rooms were among the factors contributing to the collapse of several government positions along Yemen’s western coast during earlier fighting.

The sources did not provide details establishing the full extent of those breaches or their precise impact on the battlefield.

Iranian Involvement and Technical Losses

The directorate’s reported activities overlap with intelligence and cyber capabilities associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including signals intelligence, electronic surveillance and secure military communications.

However, the presence of Iranian specialists within the Houthi intelligence apparatus does not establish that the IRGC directly commanded the directorate. The precise responsibilities of the Iranian experts remain unclear.

The reported deaths of specialized personnel could represent a significant setback for the agency, given the operational experience required to manage intelligence systems and secure communications networks.

Replacing experienced technicians and specialists may take considerable time, particularly if they possessed detailed knowledge of systems developed and maintained over several years.

The extent of damage to the facility’s equipment and technical infrastructure remains unknown, as does any disruption to the intelligence and communications services it supported.

Background

The findings follow a Sheba Intelligence report published on October 11, “Strategic Houthi Losses Behind Escalation Against Riyadh,” which examined coalition strikes against three Houthi-linked sites in Sanaa and Nihm on October 8 and 9.

The locations included the Al-Anab intelligence facility, suspected missile and drone installations in Al-Jarraf, and a mountain tunnel complex at Jabal Sara, east of Nihm.

The earlier report examined a possible connection between those strikes and subsequent Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, including the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.