Abyan (South24)

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A prominent security commander in South Yemen was injured, on Friday, during clashes with AQAP militants in Abyan governorate, according to two security sources who spoke to "South24".

The sources said that the deputy commander of the Security Belt Forces (SBF) in Abyan Governorate, Abdul Rahman Al-Shenini, was shot in the chest, when his force raided al-Qaeda hideouts in the "Wadi" near the city of Jaar in Khanfar District.

Al-Shenini was immediately transferred to a hospital in the capital, Aden, near Abyan, and his health condition is currently stable, according to one of the sources.

The SBF raided the hideouts of al-Qaeda, after the arrest of gunmen, who had previously attacked a security point in the "Al-Rai Project" area in the city of Jaar at dawn today. South24 had reported this news earlier.

"The two armed men who were arrested, revealed the hideouts of the rest of Al-Qaeda members, and in light of this information, a security force from the SBF, led by al-Shinini, stormed the place and engaged them." The source said: "the security forces found quantities of weapons in the hideouts of the militants".

Al-Qaeda activity has recently escalated in the governorates of Abyan and Shabwa, after pro-government forces took its control. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for two previous attacks this year, targeting checkpoints of the SBF, killing and wounding dozens.

The Southern Forces, with the support of UAE have been engaged in fierce fighting with jihadist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS since its formation in 2016.

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Photo: the commander of the SBF in Abyan, Abdul Latif Al-Sayed and his deputy, Abdul Rahman Al-Shenini (local media)