Al-Qaeda attacks checkpoint in Yemen's Abyan

Al-Qaeda elements on Tuesday (August 28th) attacked a security checkpoint in Abyan province, killing five members of the UAE-backed Security Belt forces and wounding two others, a local official said.

The attack took place late Tuesday in the southern province's Ahwar district.

"Al-Qaeda militants used machine guns in attacking soldiers of the Security Belt checkpoint in al-Mahsama, Ahwar district, killing five soldiers and seriously wounding two others," Ahwar district mayor Yaslam Bouset told Al-Mashareq.

"The attack came as a surprise," he said, noting that it has been some time since al-Qaeda last staged an attack in the district.

"I think the attack was in response to raids and arrests carried out by the Security Belt forces against al-Qaeda elements, the last of which was in al-Mahfad district this August," he said.

Al-Qaeda elements exploited a perceived lack of co-ordination between Security Belt forces and Yemeni forces operating in the area to stage the attack, he said.

Checkpoint attack in Lawdar district

In Abyan's Lawdar district, suspected al-Qaeda elements on Wednesday evening attacked a security checkpoint in al-Ain, local media reported.

Militants fired a barrage of bullets on al-Qarnain checkpoint, prompting clashes between the two sides. However, the final death toll is yet to be known, reports said.

Lawdar security chief Col. Mohammed Homsan al-Awdhali on August 20th survived an assassination attempt when suspected al-Qaeda gunmen opened fire on his motorcade as it passed through Shohat intersection, east of the district.