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65 Yemeni Soldiers Killed, 38 Injured, in an Al-Qaeda Attack on Shabwa Military Base

September 20, 2013

Car bombings death toll rises to nearly 65 in southeastern Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 20, 2013 (Xinhua) --

The death toll from three suicide car bombings that ripped through a key military site and police center in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa has risen to at least 65, a local security official said.

"At least 65 army and security soldiers died and 38 others were wounded in three simultaneous car bombing attacks that targeted the police station headquarters and army-held sites in Azzan area in Shabwa," the provincial security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A police officer said that the deadliest of Friday's attacks took place when an al-Qaida suicide bomber drove his explosive- laden car into the army held-site in Azzan near an oil pipeline.

Medical officials in a nearby military hospital confirmed to Xinhua the casualty figures.

An earlier toll on Friday said that three explosives-rigged cars went off at a military site in Azzan, killing at least 40 army soldiers and wounding dozens of others at the scene, a local government source said.

An army source said that the security forces backed by heavy armored vehicles were deployed in large numbers around the scene.

A witness told Xinhua anonymously saying that "we saw a number of charred bodies near the police center and the bodies of five high-ranking army officers brought out of it."

"The bombs struck an army base and huge clouds of black smoke billowed into the air," the witness added.

The toll of Friday suicide attacks could rise as ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the army victims to different hospitals and medical centers in the city, according to the local sources.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed responsibility for these bombing attacks.

A spokesman of the AQAP told Xinhua by phone early Friday that they launched wide-scale attacks using two car bombs and ground attacks on an army barracks and the police station, which killed more than 50 soldiers.

He said that their attacks took place a few minutes after a U.S. drone raided a militant car in Eyen Ma'Bad area in Shabwa and killed all on board.

Security operation room of Shabwa told Xinhua that the killed troops of the targeted army barracks were on duty of securing and protecting a nearby oil installation in the southern edge of the province.

The Yemen-based AQAP, which emerged in January 2009, is considered the most strategic threat to the Yemeni government and its neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Suspected al Qaeda attacks on Yemeni forces kill around 40

By Mohammed Mukhashaf

Fri Sep 20, 2013 7:45am EDT

ADEN (Reuters) -

Suspected al Qaeda militants killed about 40 Yemeni soldiers and policemen in two attacks in the south of the country on Friday, their deadliest for more than a year, security officials said.

Around 30 soldiers died when two car bombs exploded at a military camp in al-Nashama, near the coast, and about 10 police were killed by gunmen in the inland town of Mayfaa.

Officials believe members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were behind both attacks, the security sources said. AQAP is seen by Western countries as one of the most dangerous branches of al Qaeda because it has attempted to carry out bombings on international airlines.

U.S. drone strikes have killed scores of AQAP members and the Yemeni army has seized back large tracts of territory from the insurgents, prompting the country's foreign minister to call Friday's attacks a sign of increasing desperation.

"This attack was intended to demonstrate that they are still there. But it's also a demonstration that they are losing the war against the security and stability of Yemen," the minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, told Reuters.

Ali al-Sarary, an aide to Yemen's prime minister, said the attacks were aimed at thwarting the reconciliation efforts of a "national dialogue" set up between rival factions after a political uprising in 2011.

"The main goal is to foil a political settlement and prevent the national dialogue from reaching solutions on a number of issues, particularly issues in the south," he said.

Maintaining stability in impoverished Yemen is a priority for Washington and Gulf states because of its location next to major oil shipping routes and Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.

CAR BOMBS

Friday's attacks were the deadliest against Yemen's military since May 2012, when a suicide bomber in army uniform killed more than 90 soldiers at a parade in the capital Sanaa.

A concealed bomb in one car exploded among a group of soldiers at the gate of the al-Nashama camp as the driver sought to enter. The other was already inside the camp when it exploded, one of the security sources said.

In Mayfaa, gunmen opened fire at a security headquarters, killing around 10 policemen, before escaping in stolen vehicles, local residents said.

Both attacks took place in Yemen's southern Shabwa Province, a lawless, rugged area that has been the scene of much fighting in recent years between Islamist militants and the security forces.

AQAP emerged as one of al Qaeda's most aggressive international affiliates, and a direct threat to the United States, when it claimed responsibility for an attempt by a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to down a Detroit-bound airliner on December 25, 2009 with a bomb concealed in his underwear.

It said it was also behind a foiled plot to send two air freight packages containing bombs to the United States in October 2010.

Intelligence pointing to a major impending attack by AQAP prompted the United States and other Western countries to close many of their embassies temporarily in the Middle East, Africa and Asia early last month.

The militants took advantage of political chaos in Yemen during the Arab Spring in 2011 to seize control of some towns and surrounding areas in the south of the country.

They were beaten back by Yemeni forces with assistance from the United States last year, and scattered into small groups spread across the country's rugged, remote southern terrain.

Despite that, they have staged a series of attacks against government and military targets using a variety of tactics, from suicide and car bombs to drive-by shootings.

Yemen faces a range of domestic threats besides AQAP, including a growing secessionist movement in the south and a rebellion by the Houthis, a group of Zaydi Shi'ite Muslims, in the north of the country.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari and Yara Bayoumy; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Dozens killed in suspected al Qaeda attacks in Yemen

By News Wires (text), France 24, AFP, September 20, 2013

Suspected al Qaeda militants killed about 30 people in attacks on two military targets in south Yemen on Friday, security officials said.

Around 20 died when two car bombs exploded at a military camp in al-Nashama and about 10 were killed by gunmen in the town of Mayfaa.

Officials believe members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were behind both attacks, the security sources said. AQAP is seen by Western countries as one of the most dangerous branches of al Qaeda because it has attempted to carry out bombings on international airlines.

A concealed bomb in one car exploded among a group of soldiers at the gate of the al-Nashama camp as the driver sought to enter. The other was already inside the camp when it exploded, one of the security sources said.

In Mayfaa, gunmen opened fire on a military headquarters, killing around 10 people, before escaping in stolen army vehicles, local residents said.

Maintaining stability in impoverished Yemen is a priority for Washington and Gulf states because of its location next to major oil shipping routes and Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.

Both attacks took place in Yemen's southern Shabwa Province, a lawless, rugged area that has been the scene of much fighting in recent years between Islamist militants and the security forces.

Militants took advantage of political chaos in Yemen during the Arab Spring in 2011 to seize control of some towns and surrounding areas in the south of the country.

They were beaten back by Yemeni forces with assistance from the United States last year but have continued to stage attacks against government and military targets.

Islamist militants have assassinated dozens of Yemeni security and military officers in southern provinces including Shabwa over the past two years, often using car bombs or in drive-by shootings.

Two senior officers were killed in Hadramout province, to the east of Shabwa, earlier this month.

Yemen is also facing other domestic threats besides AQAP, including a growing secessionist movement in the south and a rebellion by the Houthis, a group of Zaydi Shi'ite Muslims, in the north of the country.

(REUTERS)

Yemen receives two U.S. reconnaissance aircraft

SANAA, Sep. 16, 2013 (Xinhua) --

Yemen's government on Monday received two U.S. military reconnaissance planes as the first batch of U.S. military support to the Yemeni air forces, official Saba news agency said.

The two single-turboprop Cessna C208 planes, received Monday by Yemeni Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed in the capital of Sanaa, will be used in Yemen's al-Dailamy Air Force Base, according to Saba.

Washington has escalated its airstrikes on the al-Qaida network in Yemen since it temporarily closed its diplomatic mission in Sanaa last month. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said that more than 40 al-Qaida suspects were killed in the strikes.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, founded in January 2009, is considered the biggest security threat in the region.

Editor: yan