Yemeni soldiers killed in Al-Qaeda attack in Shabwa

Al-Qaeda militants have attacked a military outpost in the southern province of Shabwa, killing two Yemeni soldiers and injuring three others. The attack marks the group’s bloodiest strike on government troops in the south in months. Since September, when pro-independence southern troops initiated military operations within the militants’ long-standing hideouts in Shabwa and Abyan, Al-Qaeda has employed insurgent tactics, primarily the planting of landmines and improvised explosive devices, in its efforts to confront government troops. Due to a paucity of manpower and firepower, as well as infighting between different factions of Al-Qaeda, according to experts, militants have avoided engaging in direct combat with southern forces or attacking their bases. Yemeni counterterrorism expert Saeed Obeid Al-Jemhi told Arab News that Al-Qaeda’s most recent deadly attack in Shabwa was intended to send a message that the group is still powerful and able to inflict damage on its opponents, as well as to persuade reluctant and potential new members who believed the organisation was on the decline.