A US department of energy electrical engineer has been arrested for allegedly providing material support to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. He allegedly bought materials for homemade explosives and drone parts and travelled to Yemen, the US justice department said Thursday.
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Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested Thursday and is expected to appear in court for the first time on Friday. He faces charges under a US law that prohibits providing material support to organisations designated as foreign terrorist organisations. The Houthis are designated as such by the US.
Alleged Yemen trip
According to an FBI affidavit, Ellaboudy travelled to Yemen in September last year with the stated aim of helping the Houthis improve their communications capabilities. Investigators said he told FBI informants that he had to be smuggled into and out of Yemen.
Ellaboudy allegedly hoped to reach Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital, to establish government-level contacts. The FBI said he was ultimately unable to reach the capital.
After returning to the US, Ellaboudy allegedly told Customs and Border Protection officers that he had travelled from Oman on a work trip and was part of a US government mission to inspect defence facilities.
His supervisor, however, told investigators that he had no knowledge of Ellaboudy's international travel or any Energy Department missile inspection programme involving him, according to the affidavit.
Explosive materials, drone parts
The FBI began investigating Ellaboudy after learning that he had bought precursor chemicals that can be used to make homemade explosives. These included acetone and sodium bisulphate.
Investigators also found that he had purchased components used for drones, the FBI said.
During the investigation, Ellaboudy communicated with several informants. One of them was posing as a Houthi colonel. Authorities allege that Ellaboudy provided advice and assistance on communications equipment as part of his efforts to help the group.
Houthi conflict
The allegations come as Yemen has again seen violence between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces. The conflict began in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebels seized Sanaa, forcing Yemen's government into exile in Saudi Arabia.
The renewed fighting has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands, according to the information cited by the Justice Department.
“These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination,” John Eisenberg, an assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement.
Court records did not list an attorney available to speak on Ellaboudy's behalf.
