STC Official Confirms Al-Qaeda Use of Drones in South Yemen

A Southern Transitional Council (STC) official confirmed Wednesday the Sheba Intelligence's report on Al-Qaeda's use of drones in South Yemen.

Anis Al-Sharafi, the Deputy Head of the General Department of Foreign Affairs in the STC, said powers supporting Al-Qaeda had provided the group with intelligence, weapons, and drones to plunge the south into chaos and killings.

Al-Sharafi did not name the supporters of Al-Qaeda in South Yemen.

Last month, Sheba Intelligence revealed in a report Al-Qaeda's possession of drones for the first time in South Yemen. The report said the first observation of the presence of drones in the hands of Al-Qaeda was in April 2022, indicating that Al-Qaeda has gradually directed its activities towards the southern governorates since 2022, and two-thirds of its activities occurred in Shabwa and Abyan provinces between 2022 and mid-2023.

 The use of drones by Al-Qaeda is a dangerous change in the capabilities of the terrorist group in Yemen. Since the start of this year, Sheba Intelligence has documented eight drone strikes launched by Al-Qaeda.

Al-Sharafi reiterated that the southern forces will continue their combat against Al-Qaeda to uproot terrorism and eradicate its presence from all southern provinces. Since last year, southern fighters began a campaign against Al-Qaeda operatives in Abyan and Shabwah.

On August 10, Brig. Abdul Latif Al-Sayed, commander of the Security Belt forces in Abyan province, was the highest-ranking official to die in the campaign against Al-Qaeda. He was killed when his vehicle was destroyed by an IED planted by Al-Qaeda in the Omaran valley in Abyan.