[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A prominent military and political commander who is a loyalist of ousted President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
was killed on Saturday in Sanaa in the festivities which erupted between Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews...
militias and forces loyal to Saleh on Saturday.
Khaled Ahmad Zeid al-Razi was a close bodyguard of Saleh before he was appointed deputy chief of the foreign relations department in the General People’s Congress which Saleh heads.
Khaled is the brother of Tarek al-Razi who was the head of Ahmad Ali Abdullah Saleh’s office when the latter was commander of the Elite Republican Guards. Their brother Aref al-Razi was Yemen’s envoy in Tehran and their father is Ahmed al-Razi, a prominent tribal leader who was close to Saleh, and who passed away in 2004.
Khaled was in the Elite Republican Guards until 2011 when the popular revolution toppled Saleh’s regime and his family. He was an expert in special forces and combating terrorism and he was an escort whom Saleh and his son relied on for protection.
In 2011, he quit military work but remained a staunch supporter of Saleh and part of his inner circle. A few months ago, he was appointed deputy chief of the foreign relations department in the General People’s Congress.
Sources from the General People’s Congress said Khaled was treacherously killed after mediations calmed down the situation. Khaled was with Salah, the son of Ali Abdullah Saleh, in their car when armed Houthis stopped them at a checkpoint. They clashed but eventually calmed down, only to kill him later.
Members of the General People’s Congress vowed that "Khaled’s death will not be in vain" and called on their supporters to prepare to eliminate Houthi militias.