Roadside IED in Shabwah province, 2 soldiers killed

A military patrol of the Southern Transitional Council’s Shabwah Defense Troops was struck by an improvised explosive device placed on a roadside in Ataq, the capital of Shabwah Province, Yemen. The detonation resulted in the destruction of the vehicle and the fatalities of two soldiers, with five others sustaining injuries. Local sources have attributed this incident to the Yemeni al-Qaeda network in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has a history of conducting high-profile attacks against security forces in the southern provinces. It is evident that AQAP has capitalised on the protracted armed conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia to augment its influence in the war-stricken Arab nation.