Organisation of Al-Qaeda strikes again in Yemen… Are the Muslim Brotherhood involved in the attack?

Five Yemeni soldiers were killed and four others injured in a terrorist attack carried out by elements of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization in the Abyan Governorate, southern Yemen.

The military spokesperson for the Transitional Council Forces, Mohammed Al-Naqib, stated in a press release reported by the official agency “Saba” that the attack took place in Wadi Awmeran in the Mudiyah District in eastern Abyan. He mentioned that “security and military units foiled an attack by terrorist elements who used firearms and RPG (rocket-propelled grenades) against the forces.” He added that the government forces engaged in a two-hour battle with the terrorists, resulting in the death of five soldiers and injury of four others, as well as some of the attackers.

Residents reported seeing military vehicles carrying the bodies of the unknown number of attackers.

Al-Naqib explained that the attackers infiltrated from the adjacent Al-Bayda Governorate, where many Muslim Brotherhood elements are present. This area is outside the sphere of operation of the security forces known as “Saham Al-Sharq” (Arrows of the East).

He confirmed that the terrorist organization is attempting to hinder the military progress by carrying out such surprise attacks and setting up ambushes using explosive devices against the security forces.

This is the second attack on security forces in Abyan in less than a week and comes after a series of attacks carried out by the terrorist organization in the same governorate since the beginning of the year in response to the military operation launched by the forces loyal to the Transitional Council nearly a year ago, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of soldiers.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, has exploited the conflict between government forces and the Houthis to strengthen its influence, with the assistance of the Muslim Brotherhood organization that dominated Abyan for many years.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen admitted that its ongoing attacks against the Southern Armed Forces are in retaliation for the defeat of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood militia in some governorates.

The organization, in an implicit admission in one of its publications, threatened to continue targeting the Southern Armed Forces in Shabwah and Abyan, stating that its terrorist operations aim to protect the group’s influence.