Terror attacks surge in Yemen despite truce

The number of attacks carried out by terror groups against the pro-government southern troops surged in various areas of the war-torn Yemen despite a recent truce brokered by the UN.

In the turbulent southern province of Abyan, militants of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda branch launched a large-scale attack and targeted a checkpoint manned by the newly-recruited Security Belt forces in the coastal district of Ahwar.

In a separate incident, a high-ranking military commander of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) was gunned down by a sniper of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel militia in the neighboring southern province of Lahj.

The ongoing truce went into force on April 2 and was renewed for two months on June 2, and then extended for another 60 days on August 2.

Although the truce has largely been upheld, a surge in terrorist attacks on the southern security forces in Yemen has recently been witnessed, as the country's newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) began deploying forces in the country's oil-rich province of Shabwa and other neighboring areas.

Yemen's presidential council is now facing a wide array of tough political and security challenges, ranging from terror groups to the Iran-backed Houthi militia and the recent rebellion staged by the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party in various areas of the Arab world's poorest country.

Last month, the newly-recruited southern forces announced the launch of a major anti-terror operation code-named "ARROWS OF THE EAST" across Abyan to combat terror groups.

The Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against the security forces in the country's southern provinces.

The AQAP has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi militia to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country.