Abyan (South24) 

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A security source told South24 Center earlier today that two officers from the Southern forces were killed and 9 other soldiers were injured in an explosive device attack likely by AQAP in Mudiya district of Abyan Governorate.

The source said that the commander of the 1st Battalion in the 6th Backup and Support Brigade, Officer Arif Qasim Al-Hazmi, and Officer Ammar Ali Hammadi, were killed in the attack.

The source reported that the injured soldiers are in critical conditions.

This is the largest attack in months by the extremist AQAP organization against the Southern forces. During 2023, AQAP launched about 51 attacks against the Southern forces in Abyan and Shabwa, killing 53 soldiers and wounding 114 others, according to the annual report of the South24 Center on Yemen.

Related: Yemen in 2023: Hope flickers despite hardships, annual report 

Meanwhile, the Shabwa Defense Forces (a branch of the Southern forces) held a military parade today to inaugurate the 2024 training year for the Combat Support Brigade.

During the past few days, military and security units from the Southern forces organized military parades to inaugurate the new training and combat year.