Al Qaeda’s attack Al Baydha

Even though President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi managed quite successfully to dismantle Al Qaeda cells and strongholds last April when he dispatched military units to wipe out terror militants from the southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, the group has since proven capable of rallying whatever was left of its effectives and resources to resume its terror activities.

Highly mobile, Al Qaeda has proven to be a difficult opponent to eliminate due to its ability to embed itself within local populations and assert its influence through tribal alliances and allegiances. 

On Friday evening, a reported five Yemeni policemen were killed in an ambush led by terror militants in the south-eastern province of Al Baydha, an area which has already been identified by the government as a high terror risk.

The interior ministry issued a statement in which it confirmed the attack. Xinhua quoted on Saturday a local official as saying, “Heavily armed gunmen fired machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades on a checkpoint manned by police troops near the main entrance of Al-Baydha province, leaving five policemen killed and two others injured.”

Officials lauded policemen’s efforts and courage before Al Qaeda militants as they explained that police battled militants for well over two hours, determined not to give an inch of their position to the terror group.

An intelligence officer confirmed that military units are now sweeping the area in search for Al Qaeda operatives.