A source told Sputnik news agency that “Al-Qaeda members launched a double attack on a position of the ‘Shabwa Defense Forces’ belonging to the Southern Transitional Council in the Sa’id district south of Ataq, the provincial center.”
The source detailed that “Al-Qaeda elements targeted the Qal’at site of the First Brigade of the ‘Shabwa Defense Forces’ in the Al-Musayna’ah area with mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades.” He added, “The military site’s personnel called for additional reinforcements to repel the attack, but the attacking elements set up an explosive device ambush for a military vehicle carrying several soldiers on the road leading to the site.”
According to the source, the double attack resulted in “the death of 3 soldiers and at least 3 others wounded, while the attackers also suffered losses in lives and equipment.”
This attack comes after a period of relative calm in the Shabwa province from Al-Qaeda attacks following the announcement by the ‘Shabwa Defense Forces’ on September 25 last year, of a security operation in the Al-Musayna’ah area against the organization’s strongholds. This operation was in response to an attack on a checkpoint that killed two soldiers and injured three others, preceded by an IED ambush on a military ambulance that killed four soldiers.
Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been witnessing a bloody conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) over control of the country since 2014.
