Two Officers Killed in Suspected Al-Qaeda Bombing in South Yemen
Two officers of the Yemeni government forces were killed on Saturday in a roadside blast in the southern province of Abyan, a military official told Xinhua. The local military official said that the explosion occurred when a military vehicle carrying the officers and soldiers was passing through a valley in the eastern part of Abyan. An improvised explosive device that had been installed previously on the road detonated, killing two officers, said the source. Nine others were injured, the source said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Al-Qaeda operatives are believed to be behind the explosion. Rural areas in Abyan have seen frequent clashes in recent months between southern forces and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
President of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi on Sunday called for pressure to be put on the Houthis to push them towards serious engagement with peace efforts, to end the suffering of the Yemeni people, and to restore state institutions. This came during a meeting between President al-Alimi and UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg. The state-run Saba News Agency reported that Al-Alimi was briefed by the UN envoy on the latest developments in his coordinated efforts regarding resuming a comprehensive Yemeni political process under the auspices of the United Nations. The UN's envoy for Yemen laid out a roadmap for peace in the country, which he says is reliant on solid commitments from the internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthis. The war in Yemen began in 2015 and halted in April 2022 based on a UN-sponsored truce.
On January 6, at approximately 9:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), an unmanned aerial vehicle launched from Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen was shot down in self-defense by USS LABOON (DDG 59) in international waters of the Southern Red Sea, said the US Central Command. Houthis have intensified attacks on cargo ships in the Southern Red Sea, disrupting international trade routes. The US has shot down several Houthi rebel targets. Houthis vow to continue their attacks until Israel stops its war on Gaza in Palestine.
The Israeli military signaled that it has wrapped up major combat in northern Gaza, saying it has completed dismantling Hamas' military infrastructure there. Military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said late Saturday that forces would "continue to deepen the achievement" there, strengthen defenses along the Israel-Gaza border fence, and focus on the central and southern parts of the territory. Speaking about military efforts to dismantle Hamas in the central and southern Gaza Strip, Hagari said, "We will do it in a different way" without elaborating. The health ministry in Gaza said Sunday at least 22,835 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
