Governor of Yemens Hadramout region Major General Faraj Salmeen al-Bahsani refuted allegations that secret prisons were set up in his province, saying that such claims are employed for political purposes. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Iran and Qatar are promoting these allegations.” He stressed that rights groups had visited Hadramout and seen firsthand the conditions at official prisons. “We have very advanced facilities … and the groups hailed the services they offer,” he added while on a visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Commenting on his trip, Bahsani said: “Saudi Arabia is one of our main backers and we now need to focus on development and providing the people with services.” Hadramout is in dire need of electricity, education, healthcare and water services for the locals, he stressed. Asked to assess the situation in Hadramout, he said that the al-Qaeda group had taken advantage of the Iran-backed Houthis’ coup against legitimacy forces to occupy Mukalla, the region’s capital. The Saudi-backed Arab Coalition played a major role in saving Hadramout, successfully liberating its coastal area in April 2014. Soon after, stability was restored throughout Hadramout after security forces, backed and armed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, seized control of the region, Bahsani explained. On the liberation of Hadramout from terror groups, particularly al-Qaeda, he said: “The situation is different than what it was in the past. We are now seriously and firmly confronting terrorism.” “In the past, confronting them was approached warily … while now they have been dealt major defeats,” he stressed. The Hadramour governor revealed that more than 400 terrorists have been killed and 1,000 arrested since the liberation operations began. Some of the detainees are wanted by Gulf countries and international powers. Bahsani acknowledged that the coastal region still suffers from the illegal infiltration of individuals seeking to join the Houthi militias. He appealed for international assistance to combat this problem. The area is also witness to the smuggling of various forms of weapons by land or sea, he said. Several suspects linked to these operations have been arrested. The weapons, he revealed, are being smuggled from Iran, especially from the coast, but measures have been tightened to crackdown on this activity.