ADEN, Yemen, Sept 9 (NNN-SABA) – Members of the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch were largely deployed across a key district, in the country’s turbulent southern province of Abyan, a local resident said.
The Abyan-based resident said, “Several heavily armed al-Qaeda fighters seized government institutions and set up checkpoints around the entrances of Wadea district.”
“All entrances of Wadea are now controlled by masked al-Qaeda fighters, who increased their presence here and created panic among the local citizens,” he said.
In 2017, southern military units of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), launched a large anti-terror offensive and drove the al-Qaeda out of Wadea district.
However, sporadic internal fighting between Yemen’s government forces and the STC military units, created a security vacuum and enabled the al-Qaeda to resume activities in Abyan.
A local military source confirmed that, “last month’s internal fighting was the main cause for what is happening now and we will witness an increase in the attacks of al-Qaeda in the upcoming days.”
He said, “Al-Qaeda militants immediately began assassinating members of the southern military units.”
“There are fears that al-Qaeda militants might also take revenge on those people who engaged in the anti-terror campaign against them in 2017,” he added.– NNN-SABA
