SANA'A: Officials told Bikyamasr.com that al-Qaeda militants conducted yet another attack against a military outpost in the southern tip of the country, killing a reported 7 soldiers. The news comes amid reports in the capital, Sana'a that the Central Security Forces had managed to foil a terror plot, involving a car loaded with explosives. Only 2 weeks into office and President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi has to face a fierce anti-government and anti-American campaign, with al-Qaeda throwing much of its weight into the mix, spreading fear and chaos across the region as the government is scrambling to regain control. With its economy in tatters and its armed forces in disarray since loyalties are more often than not linked to a specific political leader rather than the state, Yemen faces a difficult challenge. Local residents and eye witnesses reported that a vehicle carrying a bomb detonated at a military position held by coastal guards at the western entrance of Zinjibar, the regional capital of the Abyan province. It is important to note that the city has been under control of Ansar al-Sharia, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in the region for several months now, despite the Defense Ministry's best efforts and a declaration a week ago that the state would “rain hell on the terror group”. An ultimatum was actually issued by the government giving the Islamic militants 15 days to hand back the city to the state. As proven by recent attacks, al-Qaeda seems determined to make a stand. Moreover, another explosive-ridden car exploded at an artillery position at the southern entrance of Zinjibar, killing and wounding an undisclosed number of people. Following the explosion soldiers and militants exchanged heavy gunfire for quite some time. “This is a clear escalation in al Qaeda operations in southern Yemen, which comes barely a week after the new president took office,” said Radwan Mohammed, an analyst based in Aden. In less than 48 hours Yemen saw 3 bomb attacks and great many casualties. Interestingly the new attack against Yemen's armed forces came only hours after General Hadi Maqwala, the military commander of the southern region and a fervent supporter of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, handed over his post to President Hadi's new appointee. Detractors to Saleh have advanced that the destitute autocrat was raising the specter of terrorism, promoting from afar further attacks to prove to his former American allies that only he could keep the threat at bay while his replacements were slowly sinking into moving sands. The General People's Congress refuted the claims as baseless and unpatriotic. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/kCzS1 Tags: Al Qaeda, Attacks, Yemen Section: Latest News, Yemen
