Local officials in the southern province of Shabwa confirmed on Wednesday that unidentified armed militants shot dead four soldiers in a surprised attack against a military vehicle near the seaport of Balhaf.
Yemen’s gas-export terminal, Balhaf, has become militants’ favoured target over the past months, a mean to an end to destabilize the central government by targeting its economy.
In December 2013, a rocket-launched explosive landed inside Balhaf Plant, subsequently forcing Yemen LNG to order the evacuation of its staff as to scan the entire structure for explosives. Foreign workers were also flown back to the capital, Sana’a as a precautionary measure. While the explosion was minor, it became evident that the terminal had become a target for militants, whether al-Qaeda or secessionists.
Because of over-lapping crises and a sharp increase in sabotage operations, the authorities have had a hard time pinpointing whichever faction has stood behind each and every attack.
State officials told the press on Wednesday, “The attack killed four soldiers and wounded three other.” The military has now dispatched several units to track down the attackers and bring them to justice.
Because Shabwa sits directly on an area where both al-Qaeda militants and secessionist shave been known to be active, fears remain that an alliance of sort could be broken in between the two factions as they seek to gain more traction in their opposition and rejection of the government.
With the province of Shabwa sandwiched in between the southern provinces of al-Baydha and Hadhramawt, both strongholds for al-Qaeda, Shabwa has seen terror-related violence spill over its provincial borders.