Series of explosions target UAE-backed Security Belt forces in southern Yemen: reports

Two explosions on Friday targeted two members of the UAE-backed Security Belt in southern Yemen, according to local reports.

Sources said the explosion targeted a security commander and a military patrol of the Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) military wing in the Al-Fayoush area in Lahij governorate, reported Arabi21.

They stated that the explosion caused the burning of the military vehicle that was on patrol, while those on board sustained injuries. No deaths were reported or confirmed.

The cause behind the explosion was not confirmed, but it is believed it was set off by an explosive device planted in the military vehicle, while the perpetrators remain unknown.

Another explosion targeting other members of the Security Belt was also set off on Friday in Lawdar, Abyan governorate as reported the local website Al-Mashhad Al-Yemeni.

The Southern Media Centre - a news platform loyal to the Southern Transitional Council - named Mohammed Abdullah Samgha as the targeted commander. In a similar fashion, he also survived the explosion.

Local sources said that a detonation of an explosive device targeted a Security Belt-affiliated military vehicle between the Al-Ain and Lawdar areas, while no injuries or deaths were reported.

The Southern Transitional Council controls many governorates of southern Yemen, and seeks to separate from the northern part of the war-ravaged country and form its own entity as it previously existed up until 1990.

The Security Belt is trained and equipped by the United Arab Emirates and is tasked with fighting against local insurgents and jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda, who often wage attacks inthe region and kill members of the STC-linked forces.

Last week, the separatists confirmed that they took over an Al-Qaeda base in Abyan’s Mudiyah district, where the militants carried out attacks, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency