Abdul Reza Shahlai was another top Iranian commander besides Qassem Soleimani who was in the hit list of US forces. The US had planned to take-out both Qassem Soleimani and Abdul Reza Shahlai (in Yemen) same night but the operation failed according to reports.
Did Saudi Arabia Knew About The US Plot To Assassinate Qassem Suleimani?
The Jan. 2 strike targeted Abdul Reza Shahla’i, a key Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander, at his compound in Yemen, where he led Iran’s military support for the Houthi rebel group backed by Iran, according to a counterterrorism official and a U.S. official.
The strike on the compound was carried out by a drone, the counterterrorism official told ABC News, adding that by the next morning the U.S. learned the strike was unsuccessful.
Shahlai was a close confidante of Soleimani, and an operational commander who was responsible for commanders in key countries — Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. It was Shahlai’s activities in Yemen that increased U.S. efforts to locate him, the official added.
Last month, the State Department’s Reward For Justice Program offered a $15 million reward for information on Abdul Reza Shahlai and the possible the disruption of IRGC financial mechanisms. The announcement described him as having a “long history of involvement in attacks targeting the U.S. and our allies.”
Abdul Reza Shahla'i, the IRGC's Man in Sana'a, is wanted for Justice ⚖️
The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Shahla'i or to the disruption of the IRGC's financial mechanisms in Yemen and in the region. pic.twitter.com/cyiojVfPmL
— Rewards for Justice عربي (@Rewards4Justice) December 5, 2019
The State Department said Shahlai funded and directed the 2011 plot to attempt an assassination of the Saudi ambassador to Washington, D.C., and had “planned follow-on attacks inside the United States and elsewhere.”
