Marib (South24) 

A senior official in the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was killed yesterday when an explosive device detonated in the Wadi Ubaida district, east of Marib Governorate, according to a local source and another source familiar with AQAP’s activity.

The two sources said Hamza Al-Mashdali, commonly known as “Abu Saleh Al-Baydani,” was killed when an explosive device on a motorcycle exploded in front of a mosque in the town of Al-Hosoun. The blast also injured at least four of his escorts and other passers-by.

So far, no party has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pro-Yemeni government security authorities in Marib have not shared any additional details.

In October 2023, Hamza Al-Mashdali’s name was mentioned in the confessions of AQAP members arrested by the Shabwa Defense Forces, a branch of the Southern Armed Forces affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.

خاص | حصرياً عرض جزء من أعترافات عناصر تنظيم القاعدة الارهابي في محافظة شبوة #قوات_دفاع_شبوة pic.twitter.com/xWE2S8IQsU

— قوات دفاع شبوة (@QShbwt) October 6, 2023

The confessions included details about Al-Mashdali’s connection to supplying AQAP in Shabwa with drones coming from Houthi-controlled areas in Marib.

In December 2023, the Director of Abyan Governorate Security, Brigadier General Ali Al-Kazmi, said that Hamza Al-Mashdali fled Abyan to Marib under the pressure of strikes by the Southern forces. He was responsible for bloody terrorist operations, Al-Kazmi said.