Abyan, Yemen — A suicide bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into a military post in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan on Friday morning, killing at least 12 Yemeni soldiers, authorities confirmed.
The attack took place in the Mudiyah district, a region that has seen heightened violence in recent months.
According to Mohamed al-Naqib, a spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the bomber targeted a security forces’ site, causing significant casualties and damage.
The STC, which is allied with the Saudi-led coalition and seeks to secede from Yemen, has been actively fighting against al-Qaeda elements in the area.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is widely believed to be the work of militants linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The extremist group has increasingly targeted military facilities across Yemen, capitalizing on the ongoing conflict in the country.
The violence underscores the persistent threat posed by AQAP, which has exploited Yemen’s ongoing civil war to strengthen its position.
The group has used the nine-year conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed coalition to its advantage, operating in the power vacuum created by the protracted struggle.
In response to the rising threat, the Southern Transitional Council has intensified its offensive operations against AQAP in Abyan over the past year.
Despite these efforts, AQAP has managed to survive numerous attempts at suppression by both the US military and the Saudi-led coalition. The group’s resilience is attributed to Yemen’s fragmented state, tribal affiliations, and the vast stretches of ungoverned territory.
Recent weeks have seen a surge in violence in Yemen, with AQAP and other militant groups increasingly targeting both military and civilian sites.
The conflict, which has drawn in various international actors, continues to wreak havoc on the country, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and making it challenging for the government and its allies to establish stability.
The latest attack in Abyan highlights the ongoing struggle faced by Yemeni forces and their allies as they attempt to combat the threat posed by extremist groups amidst the broader context of Yemen’s protracted and complex conflict.