Abyan (South24) 

Earlier today, the Southern forces announced the killing of the commander of the Shuqra-Abyan sector in the Security Belt Forces, Captain Salem Ali Sal’an, after the explosion of an explosive device in Mudiya district of Abyan governorate (east of Aden).

An official statement said that Captain Sal'an was killed and eight of his escorts were wounded by an explosive device planted by AQAP near the Ormah Junction, east of Mudiya district, targeting a military vehicle.

The attack comes just two days after a failed assassination attempt on the commander of the Special Forces in the governorates of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, and Al-Dhalea, Major General Fadl Baash, in Zinjibar, Abyan, which led to the injury of five of his escorts.

In a statement on Al-Malahim platform, AQAP officially claimed responsibility for the attack that claimed the life of Captain Salem Sal'an in Mudiya.

A year and a half ago, confrontations intensified between the extremist AQAP organization and the Southern forces in the governorates of Abyan and Shabwa after the launch of "Arrows of the East" operation, which targeted AQAP’s presence in central Abyan and in the Upper Saieed district in Shabwa.