Shabwa (South24) 

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A military official in the Shabwa Defense Forces, a branch of the Southern Armed Forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC), was killed yesterday in an attack by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Shabwa Governorate.

An official statement from the Southern forces reported that Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Mohsen Al-Sulaymani, Chief of Staff of the First Brigade in the Shabwa Defense Forces, was killed in a "criminal incident carried out by terrorists in the Al-Musainah area of the Upper Saieed district.”

The statement did not specify the exact nature of the attack leading to Al-Sulaymani's death. However, a local source told South24 Center on Monday night that AQAP militants shelled a Shabwa Defense Forces position in the Al-Musainah area with mortar rounds.

Al-Sulaymani was reportedly injured in the attack and later transferred to a hospital for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries.

AQAP claimed responsibility for the Al-Musainah attack through an official statement broadcast by its media wing, the Malahem platform.

Since August 2022, Southern forces have inflicted heavy losses against AQAP, driving the group out of its strongholds in Abyan Governorate during Operation Arrows of the East.

#BREAKING

Thousands in Shabwa bid farewell to Ahmed Mohsen Al-Sulaimani, who was killed in a terrorist operation in Al-Musainah district on October 14#south24 pic.twitter.com/RTqT0KY2qF

— South24 | English (@South24E) October 16, 2024

Despite these successes, Southern forces have suffered substantial losses, with hundreds of soldiers killed and wounded in AQAP attacks, including their first known use of drones in May 2023. The STC has accused the Iran-backed Houthi group of being behind the supply of drones and explosive devices to AQAP.