By Murad Erifi
SANAA, Yemen (AA) - At least 17 soldiers were killed on Friday in an attack by the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia terrorist group on Yemen's Security Belt forces in southwestern Yemen, according to a security source.
The group targeted a base of UAE-backed Security Belt forces in the Al Mahfad district in Abyan and temporarily captured it, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Security belt forces retook the base after a counter-attack.
More than 10 soldiers were injured as well, while a number of the group's terrorists were killed and injured in the clashes.
Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
The conflict escalated the following year when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies, including the UAE, launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen and supporting the country’s pro-Saudi government.
*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat