File photo
At least five soldiers were killed in a suspected attack by Al-Qaeda on a security checkpoint in Yemen’s southern Abyan province, according to local sources.
“Five soldiers were killed -- and two others injured -- in Abyan’s Ahwar Directorate late Tuesday,” Ahmed al-Medahdah, a local health official, told Anadolu Agency without providing further details.
A security source in Abyan told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that the attackers had targeted a checkpoint affiliated with the Al-Hizam Brigade (or “Security Belt”) -- a military force backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- with machine-guns and hand grenades.
According to the same source, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, the attackers seized the slain soldiers’ weapons before fleeing the scene.
No party has yet claimed responsibility for the reported attack, but the security source pointed the finger at the Al-Qaeda terrorist group, which maintains a significant presence in southern Yemen.
Established by the UAE in mid-2015, the Al-Hizam Brigade is currently deployed in the coastal city of Aden and in adjacent areas.
Currently led by Hani Bin Brek, the Brigade is known to be close to the Southern Interim Council, which calls for the secession of southern Yemen from the rest of the country.
Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.
The conflict escalated the following year when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies, including the UAE, launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen and supporting the country’s pro-Saudi government.
Yemeni Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia's Najran region near the border between the two countries, the Houthi-controlled Masirah TV said on Wednesday.The Badr-1 missile targeted "a new military camp," it said, without indicating when the missile was launched.Saudi Arabia's military said on Tuesday its air defences intercepted a missile fired towards the southern city of Najran but there were no casualties.Saudi Arabia is leading a Western-backed alliance of Sunni Muslim Arab states trying to restore the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Houthis in 2015.The Iran-aligned Houthis control most of the west of Yemen, including its Red Sea coast.U.N. human rights experts said in a report on Tuesday that both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi militia may be guilty of war crimes in the conflict, which has raged for more than three years.The experts' panel said air strikes by the coalition in Yemen have caused heavy civilian casualties, raising concerns about its targeting process.The panel also accused Houthi fighters of restricting access on humanitarian aid and conscripting child soldiers. The Houthis regularly fire missiles on southern Saudi Arabia and occasionally aim for higher-value targets, such as the capital Riyadh or facilities of state oil company Aramco.The United Nations has convened talks in Geneva on Sept 6, the first effort to negotiate the war in more than two years.Saudi-led coalition to respond to UN Yemen reportSaudi Arabia says ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis interceptedSaudi-led coalition air strikes in Yemen may amount to war crimes: UNSaudi detains Meccaimam for criticizing mixed gatheringsSaudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missile from Yemen
Yemen's Houthis say missile fired at Saudi Arabia's Najran region