Al-Qaeda ambushes Yemeni forces in Hadramaut

Al-Qaeda elements targeted a military patrol with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the city of Seyoun in Hadramaut province Tuesday (April 2nd), killing four soldiers and critically wounding another.

The soldiers, who were escorting humanitarian workers, came under gunfire following the blast.

"Terrorist elements on Tuesday morning attacked a military patrol of the 1st Military District’s special operations battalion with an IED planted on the road between Shahuh and Trais (Soum ben Hammam), west of Seyoun," the 1st Military District command said in a statement.

The patrol was on a humanitarian mission "to help and protect relief workers who were distributing aid to the residents of Wadi Hadramaut", it said.

Four soldiers were killed and another was "critically wounded" and taken to hospital for treatment after the attack, the statement said.

The district command vowed to continue to "uproot the scourge of terrorism", stressing that such attacks "will not dissuade us from conducting our duties in protecting our homeland and fellow citizens".

Hadramaut residents condemn attack

"All the people of Hadramaut condemn this attack which targeted soldiers as they did their duty in helping distribute humanitarian aid to residents," deputy Hadramaut governor Sheikh Abdul Hadi al-Tamimi told Al-Mashareq.

"The attack shows the level of weakness the terrorist group has reached by targeting a patrol that was providing protection and assistance in the distribution of humanitarian aid," he said.

He urged the people of Hadramaut to unify their ranks, support their security and stability and report any suspicious movements to security forces.