Abyan (South24)

A Southern forces soldier was killed, and seven others were wounded Monday in an attack by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the Mudiyah district in Abyan, east of the capital, Aden.

AIC TV, affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC), reported that AQAP used explosive devices to target a vehicle belonging to Colonel Salem Mohammed Mohsen, Chief of Operations for the Third Back and Support Brigade, as well as a food supply truck.

A security source told South24 Center that the military official was unharmed, but the attack killed a soldier and wounded seven others. 

AQAP has not immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The group usually often takes a day or more to do so following assaults on Southern forces in Abyan and Shabwa governorates.

On October 14, the Chief of Staff of the First Shabwa Defense Brigade, a branch of the Southern forces, was killed in an AQAP attack in Masaniah, Al-Saeed district. The group later claimed responsibility for that attack in an official statement.

Since August 2022, AQAP has lost most of its strongholds in Abyan due to the Southern forces' “Arrows of the East” operation. However, the Southern Forces have sustained heavy casualties from AQAP attacks.