Al-Qaeda kidnaps 5 security officers in Shabwah

SHABWAH, Jun. 16 (YPA) – Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militant on Tuesday kidnapped five criminal investigation officers in the occupied province of Shabwah, media sources said.

“Al-Qaeda gunmen kidnapped five criminal investigation officers in Khora district, south of the provincial capital Ataq,” the sources said.

The officers were identified as  Awad Saleh al-Ayashi, Issam Abed Rabbo Hussein al-Awadhi, Fahmy Mohammed Maqhawi, Salem Ali Ahmed al-Ayashi and Aref Ghanem) while they were on their way to the Bayhan district south of Shabwah.

Meanwhile, the elite Shabwani forces loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militia accused the local authority in the province of “handing over  these officers to al-Qaeda elements.”

“The local authority in Shabwah has dragged five criminal search officers, including Brig. Gen. Awad al-Ayashi, and handed them over to al-Qaeda, who transferred them to Bayda province,” Ahmed al-Hurr, media officer said in a tweet.

E.M