68 Yemeni soldiers killed in attacks since August ‘We are up against a disguised foe’: Commander Military unit chief from Security Belt forces, 2 companions killed in action AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: Three Yemeni troops, including a military commander, have been killed by a roadside bomb set by Al-Qaeda militants in a hilly region of the southern province of Abyan, local officials said. The latest deaths raise the total number of soldiers killed in such assaults since August to 68. Abdul Raham Muthana, commander of a military unit belonging to the Security Belt forces, and two of his companions died and three more were injured when their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb while patrolling the Omaran valley in Abyan province on Wednesday. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the incident on social media sites and threatened to conduct other strikes. Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a spokesman for the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council, which commands the military operations in Abyan, told Arab News on Thursday that the deaths of the three troops on Wednesday upped the number of fatalities among its forces to 68 and injuries to at least 170 since the beginning of a military assault in August to remove Al-Qaeda from Abyan. Despite mounting casualties, Al-Naqeeb ruled out any withdrawal from the valley and other rural regions in Abyan as had happened in 2019, instead saying that military operations would continue until Al-Qaeda terrorists had been entirely crushed. He said: “The battle against terror is protracted and calls for significant sacrifices. We are up against a disguised foe who is laying explosive devices and running away.” After a series of violent assaults and kidnappings of residents and humanitarian workers, pro-independence forces in southern Yemen started a military push some months ago to remove Al-Qaeda from its long-standing strongholds in the southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, where the militants conceal captives, recruit and train recruits, and organize attacks on government targets. The Yemeni military and security forces were able to capture control of a broad swathe of territory in Shabwa and advanced further into the rocky and expansive mountains and valleys of Abyan, including the Omaran valley. Al-Qaeda members escaped to other Yemeni strongholds or hid in civilian areas, using guerrilla tactics such as land mine installation, roadside bombings, and hit-and-run operations. Terrorism specialist and mistress of Girton College, University of Cambridge, Dr. Elisabeth Kendall, told Arab News that the militants’ counterattacks against the southern forces since September had been dubbed Arrows of Truth and included dozens of insurgent operations. She pointed out that the militants could not have sustained such losses against the southern forces without the assistance of local factions. “Dozens of guerrilla operations have been conducted by Al-Qaeda over the past four months, which Al-Qaeda claims have killed or injured over 200 southern forces, including 10 commanders. “It is likely that Al-Qaeda has managed to collaborate with some warring factions on the ground to sustain its activity,” she said. Kendall noted that it would be difficult for the separatists’ regular army to combat an insurgent organization such as Al-Qaeda that was familiar with local people and utilized their hatred against the local administration. “It is very hard for traditional military forces to fight guerrilla forces, especially when the latter have found ways to harness local grievances and have more experience and longevity in communities,” she added.