Al-Qaeda Resurface In Southern Yemen, Kills 21 Separatists In Large Attack

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On September 6, at least 21 of Yemen’s southern separatists were killed in an attack by al-Qaeda terrorists in the province of Abyan.

The attack targeted a position of the Security Belt, a separatist force backed by the United Arab Emirates, in the area of Maqatin. Al-Qaeda terrorists clashed with the separatists for around three hours before fleeing.

One of the attack casualties was the commander of the 1^st Battalion in the Security Belt’s 1^st Counter-Terrorism Brigade Yasser Nasser Shaye, who is also known as Abu Sha’i.

In a statement, the Security Belt said that its fighters killed six al-Qaeda terrorists and captured several others while repelling the attack. Two pickup trucks were also captured by the force, which indicates that the terrorists were heavily armed.

The terrorist attack was apparently response to a military campaign the Security Belt recently launched against al-Qaeda remnants in several areas of Abyan.

A few days earlier, al-Qaeda released a video of a United Nations employee, who was abducted by its terrorists more than six months ago, calling on the Yemeni government to fulfill the terrorist group demands in order to save his life.

Al-Qaeda’s influence in Yemen has been on the decline. The terrorist group lost many of its members and commanders to its rival, the Islamic State, in the recent years. Despite of this, the group is clearly still capable of staging large attacks, at least in areas held by the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies.

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