Weapons, explosives and fighters.. Houthi support for al-Qaeda in Abyan, how does it arrive and from where?

English - Monday 23 January 2023 الساعة 08:22 am
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:

Al-Qaeda has recently intensified its terrorist attacks with explosive devices and mines in the districts of Mudiya and al-Mahfad in Abyan governorate, the latest of which was the terrorist bombing that targeted the commander of the Second Battalion in the Sixth Brigade, Brigadier General Abdul Rahman al-Muakir, on Wednesday, which led to the death of him and two of his companions.

The organization continues to plant explosives on an almost daily basis, targeting all forces, even those that did not participate in the campaign, such as the Giants. Their crews, on their way to Shabwa and Marib to confront the Houthis, were targeted in Mudiyah and Al-Mahfad in attempts by the organization to register its presence and not acknowledge the defeats in Abyan.

The military campaign of the southern forces caused al-Qaeda to lose its most important camps in the south in general.  And the organization’s resorting to explosive devices, in which civilians fell several times due to their random planting, confirms that terrorist groups are no longer able to attack or even repel attacks, but rather they are in their last breath.

But the recurrence of terrorist operations and the martyrdom of many members of the forces there, in addition to the fall of leaders in the battle, made the southern street wonder how the organization could plant explosives amid the deployment of forces and in cleared areas?

A source in the southern forces in Abyan governorate confirmed that the area between Mudiyah and Al-Mahfad districts is wide and very rugged, consisting of mountains and valleys and linked to the Jaishan district, around which the Houthi militias are present.

The source, who preferred not to be named because he was not authorized to make a statement, confirmed that the forces spotted rugged roads exploited by al-Qaeda elements, coming through the Jishan district, which the elements plant on the main roads to target the southern forces passing on the main road.

The source confirmed that the forces were able to secure many roads, as well as arrest and prevent the arrival of numbers of elements trying to plant explosives, but indicated that the problem will not end except by clearing the Jaishan district and securing all areas located near the fronts with the Houthi militia.

In Lawdar, security sources reported that al-Qaeda made its hideouts in mountainous areas near the areas controlled by the Houthi militia, which made it easier for it to obtain weapons and explosive materials.

The sources pointed to the presence of armed groups linked to al-Qaeda, led by the leader of the organization, Abdullah Ali Alawi, nicknamed al-Zarqawi, in the mountains of Tura and Silat al-Bayda, adjacent to the areas controlled by the Houthi group.

The leader, Al-Zarqawi, is the son of the leader of Al-Qaeda and one of the most prominent sheikhs of the organization in the countryside of Lawdar, "Ali Alawi," who was shot dead in 2014 by one of his relatives, following a dispute over the presence of foreign elements that Alawi brought to his village north of Lawdar.

NewsYemen had obtained sources confirming the completion of a deal led by Al-Zarqawi to release a number of the organization's militants from the prisons of the Houthi militia in a deal described by observers as an attempt to revive the organization in Abyan after the painful blows it received at the hands of the southern forces.

In the context, a source in the belt of the Lawdar district confirmed the participation of Al-Zarqawi and his gunmen in an attack targeting the headquarters of the security belt in the district earlier this month, and the terrorist gunmen were able to release a number of al-Qaeda members who were in the prison of the forces in the district.

The source explained that Al-Zarqawi's group is seeking to intensify its operations against the southern forces in the Lawdar sector and the central region to disperse the forces that are achieving great successes in Mudiyah and Al-Mahfad.

He confirmed that the terrorist elements obtained weapons, explosive devices and mines from the Houthi group, which they may use in the coming days against the southern forces.

The source indicated that reinforcements of the southern forces had arrived in Lawdar district to thwart any terrorist plans targeting the city and the central region.