Three soldiers killed in al Qaeda attack in southern Yemen

Official sources quoted by the Saudi daily ‘Arab News’ have indicated that the soldiers were killed after the explosion of several homemade bombs in the town of Mudia and added that the attack resulted in the wounding of six other soldiers.

“Al Qaeda militiamen are unable to stop the advance of southern troops. They just lay mines and attack before fleeing,” added one of them, amid the offensive led by the South Yemeni separatists of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) against Al Qaeda in Abyan.

Over the past week, nearly 40 people have been killed in clashes between the STC — who control Abyan province — and Al Qaeda. Yemeni forces also reportedly captured several members of the organization while pursuing “elements fleeing into the surrounding mountains”.

The JTS is part of a Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Huthi movement in Yemen. The JTS, which seeks self-rule for southern Yemen, broke with its nominal ally, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, after seizing its temporary base in Aden.

Although the separatists have an agenda at odds with that of the Hadi government, as they claim self-rule for the south, they are part of the coalition that intervened in March 2015 against the Huthis. The seizure of Aden exposed differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which supports thousands of southern fighters.

Source: msn