Qaeda Assassinates Yemeni Senior Security Commander in Abyan

A high-ranking security commander and his companions were assassinated in the Mudiyah district in the Abyan governorate in a suspected al-Qaeda attack.

The roadside bomb detonated while the convoy was passing near the village, days after the launch of a new campaign targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terrorists.

Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that an explosive device targeted the convoy of the commander of the Security Belt Forces in Abyan, Abdullatif al-Sayyid, killing him along with about five of his companions, including a tribal leader.

The convoy was en route to an area with regular clashes with Qaeda fighters.

Sayyid survived several previous attempts to assassinate him ordered by al-Qaeda members, who see him as one of their most essential enemies because of the war he waged against them years ago in Abyan. He headed the Security Belt Forces, tasked with protecting southern regions of Yemen.

Abyan is a hotbed for extremists such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Security sources accused the organization’s members of the operation after launching a new campaign to pursue the organization’s terrorists in Wadi Omran.

Sayyid survived several assassination attempts since he joined the government forces against Qaeda in the governorate. In 2021, Qaeda terrorists managed to infiltrate a funeral of one of Sayyid’s relatives. They put explosives in drinking water bottles, killing dozens.

In recent days, Qaeda has carried out several attacks against the security forces using improvised explosive devices and ambushes.

Meanwhile, the Deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, mourned Sayyid and his companions, saying it was a significant loss for Yemen.

Member of the Presidential Leadership Council, Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami, described the deceased as an exceptional leader and a courageous fighter, leading the soldiers on the battlefronts to defend the homeland.

Mahrami also announced that Sayyid fought in various battlefronts in Abyan and led major offensives against extremists.

Furthermore, Qaeda freed Akam Sofyol Anam, a Bangladeshi citizen working for the UN, after a year and a half abduction in Yemen.

He was released after mediation led by tribal leaders in Abyan, where he was kidnapped with four Yemenis on their way to Aden, the interim capital.