27 Dead As Al-Qaeda Launches Attack On Yemen Separatists

 

Suspected al-Qaeda militants on Tuesday attacked a security post in southern Yemen, leading to the death of 27 people, military officials said.

The violent clashes killed at least 21 troops and six militants. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) attacked positions held by the Security Belt group in the Abyan governorate in Yemen’s south. They used grenades, light and medium weapons and military vehicles at a security checkpoint in the Ahwar district.

In a series of tweets, the authorities said that six al-Qaeda fighters were killed after the group launched a “terrorist attack” on its forces in the Ahwar district.

Last week, 10 Yemeni soldiers were also killed in a Houthi attack near Taiz.

According to media reports, Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has taken advantage of the conflict between a Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Houthis to improve its influence in the region.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthi militants removed the internationally recognised government from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Around seven years of conflict has caused a terrible humanitarian crisis in the country.

Last month, General Lieutenant Amin Al-Uqaili, director of the Anti-Landmines National Program, said landmines planted by the Houthi militants had become more dangerous for civilians in recent months.

In July, at least 12 army personnel were killed and 19 others were injured because of the violations of the UN-brokered truce.

Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition, the United States, and U.N. sanctions monitors accused Iran of supplying the Houthis group with arms. The United Nations also accused the Houthis of recruiting children to fight battles for them. In 2021, around 2 million children were also forced to drop out of school due to war.

The UN also said that more than 17.4 million Yemenis are food insecure because the war has driven up hunger levels.