Hadramaut elite forces repel al-Qaeda attack

Hadramaut elite forces backed by the Arab coalition on Monday (June 12th) repelled a large-scale al-Qaeda attack on a Yemeni army checkpoint near Camp Badha in Wadi Hadramaut’s Duaan district, Yemeni officials told Al-Mashareq.

Groups of al-Qaeda elements tried to seize the camp at dawn on Monday, using vehicles packed with explosives, they said.

Local residents reported hearing a violent blast, followed by the sounds of clashes between the two sides.

"The elite forces are in control now, after they thwarted the plan of the al-Qaeda terrorists," Duaan mayor Ahmed Omar Bamaas told Al-Mashareq.

About 13 al-Qaeda elements were killed, according to an initial toll.

Two members of the army's elite forces were killed, and three others were wounded, Bamaas said.

"The elite forces are now chasing the remaining al-Qaeda elements, who fled after the attack was thwarted," he added.

"Al-Qaeda's attack, and its attempt to seize Camp Badha, is a reaction to the military and security successes of the elite forces in Duaan district and other districts along the Hadramaut coast," he said.

These include a security crackdown earlier this month, "in which several houses were raided in Duaan and a quantity of weapons and heat-seeking rockets were seized", he said.

The 2nd military district said it had raided a number of suspicious houses in Duaan, seizing a quantity of heat-seeking rockets, and arresting the owners of the houses where they were found, along with others who had been dealing with the militants.

Last month, Hadramaut elite forces were sent to Duaan district to reinforce security in the area, following a series of terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda elements on security checkpoints and posts.