Security officials confirmed on Monday that a reported five soldiers had been injured following clashes against al-Qaeda militants in the southern province of Abyan. According to preliminary reports and witnesses’ accounts, terror operatives targeted a military vehicle as it passed through the Ahwar neighbourhood in Abyan.
The attack led to a fiercely violent standoff in between the military and al-Qaeda. Officials have refused so far to make further comments on the incident, stressing that an investigative committee was looking into the matter.
Although it is yet evident whether the recent labelling of the Muslim Brotherhood by Saudi Arabia last Friday has anything to do with this sudden surge in terror activities in Yemen, security analysts have warned that such a parallel should not be dismissed.
It is important to note that politicians in the past as well as analysts have drawn links in between al-Qaeda and elements of the Brotherhood in Yemen. Former President Ali Abdullah Salejh went as far as accusing both organizations to be working together to seize control over Yemen’s political life and institutions. While such allegations have never been proven, officials close to the Brotherhood, among whom Abdul Wahab Mohammed al-Humaiqani, a prominent Yemeni cleric, have been accused of harbouring relations with the terror group.
Although Yemen armed forces managed back in 2012 to expulse al-Qaeda operatives from the southern province of Abyan, the group has in the past months looked to erode local officials’ resolve and military ground abilities ahead of a planned come back.