A military source in Yemen and residents told Reuters that at least five soldiers were killed today, Tuesday, in a new attack believed to have been carried out by Al-Qaeda militants in the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, where forces affiliated with the Southern Transition Council have been fighting the organization for about a year.
The military spokesperson for the Southern Transition Forces, Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, stated to Reuters that the attack occurred in Wadi Aumran in the Modya district east of Abyan, where "security and military units thwarted an attack by the terrorist elements, who used automatic weapons and RPGs against the forces."
He noted that government forces engaged in a two-hour battle with the "terrorist elements," resulting in the deaths of five soldiers and injuries to four others, as well as several attackers.
Al-Naqeeb clarified that the attackers had infiltrated from the neighboring Al-Bayda governorate, an area outside the operational theater of the security forces known as "Eastern Arrows."
He confirmed that the organization is attempting to disrupt military progress by carrying out such surprise terrorist attacks and ambushes using explosives against security forces.
Residents reported seeing military vehicles transporting casualties of the attacking militants, though the number remains unknown.
This marks the second attack on security forces in Abyan in less than a week, following attacks carried out by the organization since the beginning of the year in the same governorate, in response to the military operation launched by the council-affiliated forces nearly a year ago, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of soldiers.
