Abyan (South24) 

Last Sunday, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) threatened to target tribes and Security Belt Forces in Abyan governorate, South Yemen.

In a telegram saw by "South24", the organization threatened figures of "Al Saleh" tribes, in Mudiyah district, to terminate the operations of the pro-STC Security Belt in the district against the organization's members.

In the telegram, the organization said that the Security Belt Forces led by Saddam al-Salihi, a member of Al Saleh tribe, are "harassing" its members who fled Al-Bayda governorate, North Yemen.

AQAP vowed to clash in the coming days if the tribes did not take a stand against the Security Belt forces. The organization announced that it was waiting for a response.

Two days after the telegram, AQAP militants kidnapped a senior official in the Security Belt Forces in Mudiyah district.

According to a source in the Security Belt who spoke to "South24", the members kidnapped the official in Lauder district whose name is officer Yasser Al-Saadi.

These developments come a week after the AQAP-affiliate "Ansar al-Sharia" group released pictures of three of its killed members without clarifying the place and time of their killing.