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Map of Yemen. Click to view. |
An al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula suicide bomber killed nine Yemeni soldiers in an attack on a military convoy in the southern province of Aden today.
The suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the military convoy as it was stopped at a checkpoint near the provincial capital of Aden. The convoy was enroute to assist Yemeni troops in breaking AQAP’s hold on the city of Zinjibar in the neighboring province of Abyan.
“The suicide attack by al Qaeda hit a convoy headed to Abyan … the attacker died and his limbs were scattered around the area,” the Yemeni Defense Ministry said, according to Reuters.
The suicide bombing in Aden is the second major attack in the city within the past several days. On July 20, terrorists killed a British citizen who worked as a marine surveyor. The Brit was killed after an explosive device was detonated in his car. Police arrested four suspects in the attack yesterday.
Today’s suicide attack takes place just weeks after Yemen’s defense minister said troops have been deployed around Aden to prevent the city from falling to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
For the past several months, Yemeni security forces have been battling AQAP and allied Islamist groups for control of the south. AQAP is known to have openly taken control of areas in Abyan, Shabwah, Hadramawt, Marib, and Lahj since the onset of large anti-government protests in March. The cities of Zinjibar and Azzan in Shabwa province are under AQAP control.
For more information on AQAP and its front group Ansar al Sharia’s war against the Yemeni government, and US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, US airstrike kills 6 al Qaeda fighters in Yemen: report.
