Blast Kills 2 Officers, 6 Soldiers in Southern Yemen

At least two senior officers of Yemen's government forces were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday.

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The blast occurred in Al Bouqaira village in Mudiyah district of the province of Abyan, injuring six soldiers. Elements of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch attached the explosive under the officers' vehicle and detonated it with a remote-controlled device.

Medical workers and rescuers rushed to the site immediately after the blast and shifted the injured soldiers to a nearby hospital. The local Yemeni security units in Abyan vowed to launch a search operation in the surroundings to arrest the perpetrators during the upcoming hours.

In the past months, Abyan witnessed a dramatic increase in terror attacks against government forces in many of its areas, as the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other extremist groups have a strong presence in the turbulent province.

In November 2022, military units of the Southern Transitional Council, which is a part of the Yemeni government, announced that they were launching "a qualitative anti-terror operation and succeeded in raiding a key hideout of al-Qaida in Abyan and Shabwa."

Al-Qaida militants hiding out in rocky terrains and mountainous areas of Abyan and other neighboring provinces including Shabwa frequently use hit-and-run tactics against Yemeni government forces.

The AQAP network has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country. It has carried out many high-profile attacks against the security forces in the country's southern provinces.