Aden (South24 Center)

Unidentified gunmen assassinated Southern Salafi leader Osama Abdulkarim Mohsen Al-Radfani, known as “Abu Al-Azz,” on Saturday, August 1, in an armed ambush on the Al-Abr road in Hadramout Governorate, South Yemen, according to local sources.

A local source told South24 Center that the gunmen targeted Al-Radfani’s vehicle in the Al-Abr area, killing him and several of his escorts. No precise official casualty toll has yet been announced.

The sources added that Al-Radfani was returning from Saudi Arabia. Days earlier, he had led an armed tribal delegation that answered the call of a tribal gathering in Al-Jawf mobilizing against the Houthis.

Al-Radfani was a Salafi military figure and previously commanded the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division of the Saudi-backed Nation’s Shield Forces.

Local reports indicate that he had previously studied at the Salafi center in Dammaj, Saada Governorate. During the early stages of the formation of the Nation’s Shield Forces, he was identified as commander of the 8th Brigade before later assuming command of the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division. He was removed from the post following internal disputes in February 2025.

In June 2025, tribal, military and social figures in Radfan called for his release after he was detained at the Nation’s Shield Forces headquarters in Al-Buraiqa, Aden.

Reports at the time described him as a prominent field commander who had fought the Houthis on several fronts, including Al-Dhalea, Yafea, Harib, Al-Hazimiya, Karsh and Mokha.

In a statement on Saturday, the Nation’s Shield Forces condemned the assassination of Al-Radfani and his escorts, describing the attack as a “treacherous and cowardly crime” targeting public security and social stability.

The forces called for the perpetrators to be pursued and brought to justice, stressing the need to uphold the rule of law and protect citizens.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, while the authorities have not disclosed the identity of the gunmen or a possible motive for the assassination.

Al-Radfani’s killing comes amid a series of armed attacks targeting members of the Nation’s Shield Forces and Southern military and tribal figures along the desert roads of Hadramout Governorate.

On July 17, gunmen attacked members of the 4th Brigade while they were inside a restaurant in Rumah district. An official military statement said five soldiers were killed and three others wounded. The dead included the son of the brigade’s chief of staff.

Three days earlier, Salafi tribal figure Hussein Al-Salahi Al-Yafei survived an armed ambush in the Al-Abr area while returning from a tribal gathering in Al-Jawf Governorate. His son was killed and one of his escorts wounded in the attack. No evidence has emerged establishing a connection between the two incidents.

In April, another Nation’s Shield Forces officer was killed and several soldiers wounded in an ambush on the Al-Abr road, highlighting the growing security threats along the strategic route linking Hadramout with the Al-Wadiah border crossing, where Yemeni Emergency Forces are deployed.