Shabwa (South24) 

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Yesterday, the Southern forces announced that five soldiers and one civilian had been killed in "terrorist attacks" launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia and AQAP in the Al-Dhalea, Abyan and Shabwa governorates within 24 hours.

The official website of the Southern forces, Deraa Aljanoob, said that three soldiers were killed and two others were injured when an explosive device was detonated inside a military vehicle in Wadi Oemran, Mudiyah district, Abyan Governorate.

In Shabwa Governorate, the Southern forces said that AQAP detonated two explosive devices on the main road in Wadi Sa’ra in the Upper Saieed district’s Al-Musainah area, which killed one civilian and wounded four soldiers from the Shabwa Defense Forces, a branch of the Southern forces.

A local source told South24 that another AQAP attack took place yesterday morning, utilizing mortar shells on a position of the Shabwa Defense Forces in the Al-Musainah area.

In Al-Dhalea Governorate, a Houthi drone attack targeted Southern forces' positions north of the governorate, resulting in the deaths of two soldiers on Thursday evening.

The Southern forces' official spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Al-Naqib, accused AQAP and the Houthi militia of coordinating and cooperating against the Southern forces.

"Following the US decision to designate the Houthis as a terrorist group, the exchange of roles and coordination between terrorist groups was evident," he said in a statement.

His statement added: "We warned earlier of the integrated activity of terrorist groups against the South, its military forces, and international interests and corridors."

In statements on AQAP’s official Telegram channel ‘Diaa Al-Mujahid’, the group claimed responsibility for the two attacks on the Southern forces in Abyan and Shabwa. The organization described the soldiers of the Southern forces as "mercenaries of the UAE."

Throughout January, AQAP has been escalating its attacks again against the Southern forces following several months of a seeming decline.

On January 6, an AQAP attack using an explosive device in the Mudiyah district of Abyan Governorate led to the deaths of two officers from the Southern forces and the injury of nine soldiers.

In 2023, AQAP launched approximately 51 attacks against the Southern forces in Abyan and Shabwa, killing 53 soldiers and wounding 114 others, according to South24 Center’s annual report on Yemen.

Related: Yemen in 2023: Hope flickers despite hardships, annual report