Yemen's separatists say 7 soldiers killed in blast

By Ali Semerci

ISTANBUL (AA) – Seven soldiers of Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) were killed in a blast in the southern Abyan province on Friday.

The explosives were planted to target forces engaged in an anti-terrorism operation, according to STC spokesperson Mohammed al-Nakib.

Earlier this week, the UAE-backed STC announced the start of a new security operation to eliminate terrorist groups from Abyan.

The operation was first started last August to hunt down al-Qaeda terrorists in the province.

In September, at least 22 soldiers of an STC-affiliated force were killed in an attack by al-Qaeda terrorists in Abyan.

Later that month, the STC said it had fully seized al-Qaeda’s largest stronghold in Abyan, known as the Omran camp.

Military units in Abyan face frequent attacks, usually attributed to al-Qaeda, which is active in the mountainous areas on the outskirts of Ahwar and Al-Mahfad districts, east of the city of Zinjibar.

The Yemeni army and STC forces share control of the province.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.