Shabwa (South24 Center) 

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Joint Southern forces carried out a dawn raid Sunday in Ataq, the capital of Shabwa Governorate, targeting a senior Al-Qaeda operative believed to coordinate between the group's branches in Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, military sources told ‘South24 Center’.

During the operation, that involved counterterrorism units from Aden and Abyan, alongside Shabwa Defense's 2nd Brigade forces. the forces stormed a suspected safehouse, killing one militant and arrested another. Neither have been publicly identified as yet. A military source described the target as "a high-ranking figure handling regional coordination for the organization”. No official statement has been released by the security agencies or the Al-Qaeda.

However, later media sources reported that the militant who was killed was identified as “Abu Zaid Al-Yafei,” while the one who was captured was named “Abu Ibrahim Al-Hadhrami.”

The raid follows a suspected US drone strike Saturday evening near Ataq's Al-Nasr military camp, which killed an unidentified individual. Informed sources suggest the airstrike may be linked to Sunday's ground operation. Neither local authorities nor any party has claimed responsibility for the strike.

In a related development, jihadism watchers reported on April 10 the assassination of Saudi Al-Qaeda commander Ahmed Al-Qahtani inside a mosque in the Wadi Obaida district of Marib Governorate by an unknown gunman – an incident still unconfirmed by Yemeni or Saudi authorities.

The development coincides with Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani's Saturday accusation that the Houthis released several Al-Qaeda and ISIS operatives, including commanders Abu Musab Al-Radai and Abu Mohsen Al-Awlaki. According to him, the Houthis had previously released 20 militants in November 2023 and six others in December 2019.

Despite Houthi denials of ties to the Al-Qaeda, the 2024 UN Panel of Experts report documented links between Yemeni-Somali Al-Qaeda affiliates and the Houthi movement.

Southern forces have conducted large-scale counterterrorism campaigns (‘Arrows of the East/South‘) since September 2022 across Shabwa and Abyan's rugged terrain bordering Houthi-controlled Al-Bayda Governorate.