Hadramout (South24) 

Yesterday, Saturday evening, Hadramout local authorities announced that they had thwarted a "large terrorist plot targeting vital civilian and military facilities on the coast of Hadramout."

The governor of the province, Major General Faraj Al-Bahsani, stated that the security forces managed to arrest a "terrorist cell" consisting of five members, led by a "first class terrorist".

Governor Al-Bahsani, who also commands the 2nd Military District, noted that the cell leader "gave information" about plans to attack the central bank, local authority and security headquarters, camps, and service facilities.

According to local sources for "South24", Mukalla, the largest city in Hadramout, witnessed an intense security deployment, hours after the announcement of the arrest of the "terrorist cell".

The sources indicated that the security forces were deployed with the aim of searching for militants believed to be affiliated with the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in North Yemen.

The security authorities in Abyan governorate had announced the arrest of a Houthi cell in the Al-Wadaya district, after a clash that left one of the cell members dead, and seven others were arrested.

Al-Bahsani delivered a speech in front of the security personnel and the Hadrami elite (Southern forces backed by the UAE, a state member of the Arab Coalition alongside Saudi Arabia), in which he urged them to perform the "new military and security mission with full force and firmness."

Today, Sunday, the STC in Hadramout hailed the "security achievement of apprehending the terrorist cell in Mukalla." STC director, Colonel Saeed Al-Mohammadi, called on the people of the province to "vigilantly confront the Houthi threat."

Al-Mohammadi renewed the STC's call for all the people of the province and the political and social elites in it to "line up, renounce differences and rise above them" and focus on confronting the Houthis.

The security tightening in Hadramout comes at a time when the Houthis are close to controlling Marib in North Yemen. Military observers fear that the Houthis will threaten the Hadramout regions in South, if they take over Marib.

In Wadi Hadramout, there are government forces loyal to the Yemeni Vice President, but they have never participated in the war against the Houthis. 

South24 Center for News and Studies 

Photo: South24 screenshot (Governor Faraj Al-Bahsani during his statement after capturing the "terrorist cell"