Overview

• Six troops loyal to a UAE-backed secessionist group were killed in a suspected al-Qaeda attack in Yemen's Abyan province.
• The attack targeted a military vehicle, wounding an additional 11 soldiers.
• The Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist group, controls much of Yemen's south and is allied with the Yemeni government against Houthi rebels.
• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered one of the most dangerous branches of the terror group, is blamed for the attack.
• The ongoing conflict in Yemen has allowed terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda to strengthen their presence in the region.