Aden (South24 Center)

Five soldiers from the Saudi-backed Nation’s Shield Forces were killed and three others wounded in an attack carried out by tribal gunmen in a remote area of Hadramout governorate on Friday, July 17.

The attack took place in the evening while members of the 4th Brigade were having dinner inside a restaurant in the market of Ramah district, local sources told South24 Center.

The sources said gunmen travelling in more than seven-armed vehicles surrounded a company commander and several soldiers inside the restaurant before opening fire.

The Nation’s Shield Forces said in an official statement that five of its soldiers were killed and three others wounded in what it described as a “treacherous attack” carried out by outlaws. Among those killed was the son of the 4th Brigade’s chief of staff.

Local and military sources identified the attackers as gunmen belonging to the Dahm tribe, whose main areas of influence are concentrated in the northern governorate of Al-Jawf.

The Nation’s Shield statement did not identify the tribal affiliation of the attackers, and the results of any official investigation into the incident have yet to be announced.

The sources said the attack was carried out in retaliation for the killing of a member of the tribal group during an earlier security operation conducted by the 4th Brigade.

Accounts differed over the nature of that operation. Some sources said Nation’s Shield soldiers had thwarted a smuggling attempt heading towards areas controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, while others said the operation targeted suspects involved in drug trafficking.

Nation’s Shield Forces arrested two suspects allegedly involved in the attack and killed a third during the security response that followed, while the remaining gunmen fled, according to field sources who spoke to South24.

Ramah district lies in the desert region of northeastern Hadramout, near roads linking the governorate with Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Mahra and the Saudi border.

The area is crossed by routes used for military movements and the transportation of goods, but which are also exploited by networks smuggling weapons, narcotics and other contraband, according to security officials.

The Nation’s Shield Forces were formally established by a decree issued by Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi in January 2023 as a military reserve force.

The force receives Saudi funding and support and developed from military units previously known as the Happy Yemen Brigades. A number of its commanders and personnel had also previously served in other southern military formations, including the Southern Giants Brigades.

Military and local sources say a large proportion of the personnel in some Nation’s Shield brigades were recruited from the governorates of Al-Dhalea and Lahj, particularly the Al-Subaiha areas of Lahj.

Recruitment later expanded to include personnel from Hadramout, Shabwa and Abyan, as well as other governorates in the South and North, as the force grew in size and widened its geographical deployment.

The Nation’s Shield Forces gradually established a presence in Hadramout around the Al-Wadeeah border crossing and the desert area of Al-Abr, two strategic locations along the main roads linking South Yemen with Saudi Arabia.

The force later assumed responsibility for checkpoints and military positions along the Al-Wadeeah–Al-Abr road, as well as other desert routes linking Hadramout with Marib, Al-Jawf and Shabwa.

Its deployment in Hadramout expanded significantly during the military and political confrontation that followed the Southern Transitional Council’s advance into Hadramout and Al-Mahra in late 2025.

Nation’s Shield brigades previously stationed in Aden, Lahj, Al-Dhalea and Abyan were transferred towards Al-Abr, Al-Wadeeah and Wadi Hadramout.

However, Nation’s Shield commander Bashir Al-Subaihi refused at the time to fight southern forces, according to informed sources who spoke to South24 Center, prompting Saudi Arabia to bring in the Northern Emergency Forces and carry out airstrikes.

The Ramah attack comes as areas of Al-Jawf and the frontlines with the Houthis witness growing military and tribal mobilization.

Sources had previously told South24 that Nation’s Shield and Northern Emergency Forces units around Al-Abr and Wadi Hadramout had raised their level of readiness, amid reports of tribal and military mobilization towards Al-Jawf.