Aden (south24)

South Yemen was rocked by a series of security developments at dawn and Thursday morning after drones flying and the failed assassination attempt of a minister in the new parity government, in Aden.

Also, armed men believed to be from Al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQAP) killed seven soldiers and five civilians, during their attack on a security point of the Security Belt Forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), in  Ahwar area in Abyan governorate.

In Aden, citizens told "south24" that they saw a number of drones hovering over the headquarters of the Southern STC, in the city of Tawahi, and above the government headquarters in Crater.

Ground anti-aircraft launched in separate areas in Aden, including the city of Buraiqa, where the headquarters of the Saudi forces are located, and at Aden International Airport, in Khour Maksar.

Activists and citizens shared a video showing southern air defenses intercepting drones.

An operational source told "south24" that the southern forces managed to shoot down two drones, while local media reported that a drone - at least - was shot down at sea.

It was not clear at the time of writing the report, details of who was behind these unidentified drones, which flew for nearly an hour, and whether they were reconnaissance or attack aircraft.

This morning, the Minister of Civil Service and Insurance, and a member of the STC Presidium, Abdel Nasser Al-Wali, was subjected to an assassination attempt with an explosive device targeting his vehicle in Al-Arish in Aden.

Informed sources told "south24" that two explosive devices were planted on the road in Al-Arish, targeting the Al-Wali while he was passing by, one of them exploded while the other did not, and a team of specialists was called to dismantle them.

In Abyan, 12 people were killed, including seven soldiers of the Southern Security Belt Forces, and five civilian travelers, and others - including children - were injured in an attack on a security point in Ahwar region, east of the Abyan governorate.

In a statement, the Security Belt Forces condoled the "martyrs of the terrorist attack" and promised a "harsh response."

"The terrorists put their daggers in the back of the southern forces, at a time when these forces are working with the Arab coalition to make the Riyadh agreement succeed and bring peace," the statement said.

Observers believe that these attacks and security threats directly target the Southern Transitional Council, its leadership, and its security forces.

Resurgence of terrorist 

In the face of these security developments, the STC called in a statement, "the southern security forces to raise the level of high readiness and vigilance to confront these terrorist groups in Aden, Abyan and all the southern governorates." [1]

"The recent period has witnessed a remarkable resumption of terrorist groups' activity," said the council's spokesman, Ali Al Kathiri.

The STC stressed the necessity of the return of the Shabwani Elite Forces to "resume their duties with all southern forces in the face of terrorism and cutting it off all over South."

To this end, the council called on "the regional and international coalition to combat terrorism to provide the necessary support to continue our common war against terrorism and its groups and to cleanse Aden and South in general of its criminal cells."

In televised statements, published by the Saudi ArabNews newspaper and Al-Hadath channel, Turki Al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said that there are terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, which are similar to the "Houthi group" and want to carry out their malicious activities under the framework of the Yemeni government.

The parity Government in Yemen condemned the assassination attempt on Minister Abdel Nasser Al-Wali, and described the attack as "terrorist." 

A statement published by the official website of the Yemeni Council of Ministers said that this attack comes "within the desperate attempts by some parties that seek to obstruct consensus and complete the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement." [2]

According to the government statement, the Prime Minister issued immediate instructions to conduct urgent investigations to uncover the circumstances of the attempted assassination of the Minister Al-Walo, and to pursue those responsible.

Read Also: Saudi Arabia and STC in South Yemen: What is the problem?

On Wednesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry called on the parties to the Riyadh Agreement to an urgent meeting, after angry popular protests in front of the government headquarters in Aden, denouncing the high prices, cuts to salaries, and the deterioration of living services.

- South24 Center for News and Studies