Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists kill 8 Saudi-backed militants in southern Yemen

Yemeni militiamen, loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, guard a position in the city of Ta'izz, on May 19, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

At least eight Saudi-backed militants, loyal to Yemen’s former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, have been killed and nearly 30 others sustained injuries after a group of terrorists attempted to storm their military camp in southern Yemen.

The incident occurred in Juhayn district of the town of Loder in Abyan province on Tuesday, when assailants, suspected to be members of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Takfiri terrorist outfit, attempted to drive an explosives-laden vehicle, supported by gunfire of a group of terrorists, into a newly established position by Hadi’s militiamen in the town.

Hadi’s forces managed to bar the vehicle and the gunmen who accompanied it from entering the base but the huge explosion and the exchange of fire between the two sides not only killed eight militiamen but also slew at least six Takfiri terrorists, including the driver of the vehicle.

AQAP as well as the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have exploited more than two years of Saudi Arabia’s war against the Yemeni nation, trying to deepen their influence in the impoverished country by launching bombings and shooting attacks.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been heavily bombarding Yemen as part of a brutal campaign against its impoverished southern neighbor in an attempt to reinstall Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, which is in control of large parts of Yemen including the capital Sana'a. The Saudi campaign, however, has failed to achieve its goals.

The United States has also been providing arms and military training as well as bombing coordinates to the Saudi-led invasion of Yemen since the beginning of the protracted war.

A tractor clears the rubble as Yemenis gather at the site of a Saudi airstrike on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Sa'ada, August 4, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Hadi, who initially fled the country to Riyadh, managed to capture Aden in July 2015 with the military help of the regime in Riyadh after it fell in the hands of Houthis in September 2014.

Since then, Hadi, along with his supporters and militiamen, have turned the port city into their base, calling it the country's temporary capital, and have gone hand-in-hand with the Saudi war machine against the nation, trying to take control of more regions in the country.

Over the past two years, Houthis have been running state affairs and defending Yemeni people against the Saudi campaign.

Latest figures show that the imposed war has so far killed over 12,000 Yemenis and wounded thousands more. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on the country's facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

Certain Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, are key partners to the campaign, which lacks any international mandate and has faced increasing criticism.