Al-Qaeda kidnaps six policemen in Yemen: security official

MENA

Published: 2021-06-17 16:07

Last Updated: 2024-03-27 21:57


Al-Qaeda kidnaps six policemen in Yemen: security official
Al-Qaeda kidnaps six policemen in Yemen: security official

Al-Qaeda kidnapped six members of the security forces in Shabwa province in Yemen, according to what a Yemeni security official told AFP Thursday, in a rare operation that comes at a time when the country is witnessing a devastating war that allowed the return of militant groups.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups seek to exploit the security vacuum created by the more than six-year conflict between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"Al-Qaeda kidnapped two officers and four (police) in two separate incidents in Shabwa province," a security official said in a statement to AFP.

The official said, "Two officers, one of whom is a brigadier general, and three policemen were on a mission regarding a murder in Markha district, and they were lured by elements claiming to be from tribes to help them before it turned out that they had fallen into a trap and that those elements were affiliated with the terrorist organization and detained them."

The security official confirmed that al-Qaeda members "transferred the kidnapped to the neighboring province of al-Bayda" and that the kidnapping took place on Tuesday.

He also announced that gunmen belonging to Al-Qaeda kidnapped on Wednesday evening, "a soldier belonging to the Shabwani Elite Forces in Mayfa'a district in Shabwa and took him to an unknown location."

Recently, this type of operation has become rare, after Al-Qaeda has been significantly weakened as a result of a campaign to combat it that has been going on for years.

However, the country is witnessing the return of this organization that seeks to benefit from the ongoing war between the government and the Houthis.

Since February, the momentum of this return has strengthened after the Houthis launched an intensive campaign in Marib (north) to seize the last stronghold of the government in the northern region, which is mostly under Houthi control.

Al-Qaeda has suffered successive defeats in the past three years, losing fighters and several areas under its control.

In March, Yemeni intelligence officials told AFP that AQAP, which had been "almost completely eliminated," was "retraining fighters and rebuilding relations" with local tribes.