Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have killed at least five soldiers following an attack at a security checkpoint in the southern province of Abyan. The attack was confirmed by Yemeni tribal and security officials who further confirmed that at least four others were injured in the attack.
According to the statement issued, the attack took place in Ahwar district in Abyan province and targeted Security Belt forces – fighters trained and financed by the UAE, which is part the Arab coalition battling the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni affiliate is known, has long been considered the global network’s most dangerous branch and has attempted to carry out attacks on the US mainland.
Yemen was plunged into a civil war in March 2015. The devastating conflict in Yemen has left more than 10,000 people dead since March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to fight Houthi rebels closing in on the last stronghold of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government.
