Al-Qaeda has announced on Wednesday the implementation of a new operation targeting a senior leader in the UAE-funded Southern Transitional Council militia in Abyan province.
Al-Qaeda media published a statement by the organisation confirming that the operation targeted the commander of the so-called Falcon Battalion in the 1st Support Brigade of the STC.
The statement pointed out that Brigadier General Abdul-Khaleq al-Hakami was wounded in the operation.
The second operation took place less than 24 hours after the first one, as the STC had previously claimed the killing of a reconnaissance office of an anti-terrorist unit, known as Nabil al-Tami in an operation in Mudiyah district in the same province.
The escalation of individual attacks came hours after the organisation announced a shift in the strategy of fighting in the province, following the STC’s announcement of its control over Abyan’s districts, which was the stronghold of Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
