Deadly al-Qaeda attack kills two Yemeni soldiers

Two Yemeni soldiers were killed and three others were injured when Al-Qaeda militants attacked their outpost in the southern province of Shabwa, local officials and media reports said. This was Al-Qaeda’s bloodiest strike on Yemeni government troops in the south in months.

Yemen's Shabwa Defense Forces said that Al-Qaeda attacked a military outpost in Al-Musenah region of Shabwa with heavy machine guns and other weapons, triggering clashes that left two soldiers dead and three others wounded.

Local media reported that Al-Qaeda militants retreated to the mountainous region of Al-Musenah shortly after carrying out the attack.

Since September, when pro-independence southern troops initiated military operations within the militants’ long-standing hideouts in Shabwa and Abyan, Al-Qaeda has employed insurgent tactics, primarily the planting of landmines and improvised explosive devices, in its efforts to confront government troops.

Due to a paucity of manpower and firepower, as well as infighting between different factions of Al-Qaeda, according to experts, militants have avoided engaging in direct combat with southern forces or attacking their bases.