Abdulreza Shahlai

Shahlai is classified by the US government as a terrorist for his funding of terror groups and his links to attacks on US troops in Iraq, including a 2007 raid that killed five US soldiers in Karbala.[3] Other alleged attacks led by Shalai include a failed assassination attempt on the Saudi ambassador in Washington DC, Adel Al-Jubeir.[4] As such, the US State Department has put a 15m USD bounty on Shahlai, through the Rewards for Justice Program, for information leading to his whereabouts.[5][6]

On the night of 3 January, the US military attempted to assassinate Shahlai via drone strike in conjunction with the assassination of the head of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani in the Baghdad International Airport airstrike. The drone strike in Sana'a, where Shahlai was based, failed to kill him but did lead to the death of lower ranked IRGC member Mohammad Mirza. This is the first combat death the Quds Force has acknowledged in Yemen.[7]

On 10 January, the US State Department admitted to the attempted assassination of Shahlai, but did not announce it on the same date as the Soleimani assassination because the Shahlai assassination was unsuccessful. This led to speculation the 3 January drone strikes were wider decapitation hits aimed at taking out the Quds Force leadership.[8][9]