Ansar al-Sharia, al-Qaeda offshoot in Yemen, declared on Wednesday the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa, the hometown of the Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, who was assassinated last year by an US drone strike, as an Islamic emirate.
In a statement released on its website, al-Qaeda declared Shabwa, a province abundantly rich in natural resources such as oil and gas, an Islamic emirate, citing pictures of its elements in control of key government institution in the governorate.
Such announcement is the third of its kind but the biggest of its magnitude. The terror network has declared Zinjubar, the provincial capital of the strife-torn province of Abyan, an Islamic emirate in May last year. However Yemeni army assisted by tribal gunmen managed to regain control of it , forcing them out three months later.
The town [Zinjubar] still the scene of nearly daily clashes between the Jihadists and army troopers nevertheless. On Sunday, AQAP gunmen has waged a surprise attack on military posts the outskirts of Zinjubar, leaving at least 180 soldiers killed, capturing 70, and looting different kinds of weapons.
Also, earlier the year, the terrorists have briefly taken over Rada, the main town of the southeastern Province of Al-Baitha. They ,however, pulled out after Yemeni government has struck a deal with them, releasing dozens of their fellow islamists from prisons.
Taking an advantage of the current situation the country is going through, Yemen-based al-Qaeda wing--the most active offshoot of the global terror network in the world according to US Department of State-- has gained momentum in south Yemen, stepping up its attacks on army and security forces, and taking control of large swathes of lands.
Earlier the day, locals in al-Mukala, the provincial capital of Hadramout, the biggest province in the country, has distributed flies, warning army personnel that their fate is going to be death unless they repent and stop fighting for the government.
High-ranking security officer told Yemen Post on condition of anonymity that the interior Ministry have intelligence information that the AQAP fighters planning to take over al-Mukala.
Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has pledged to eradicate AQAP elements on Monday.