A leading member of the Iran-backed Houthi militias was seriously wounded by a landmine explosion in Yemen’s Hais region on Monday. The September.net website said Abdullah Batily and several of his companions were injured by a mine planted by the Houthis in Hais, south of Hodeidah. The Houthis have been accused of widespread and indiscriminate use of landmines. Indiscriminate use of landmines is deemed a war crime by international bodies. Last year, the Washington Institute said that, while landmines have plagued Yemen for decades amid different conflicts, the Houthis are using them today “at an astonishingly high rate.” While exact numbers are “notoriously difficult to verify”, the institute said one “Yemeni de-mining official claims the Houthis have laid 500,000 mines since 2015” while de-mining teams “have reportedly removed 300,000 landmines”.