ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) said Friday that at least three of its soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in an attack carried out by what it described as "terrorist elements" in the country's southeastern province of Shabwa.
In a brief statement, the Aden-based STC accused elements affiliated with Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood group of carrying out the attack, which targeted the Areen military base in Shabwa province.
According to the statement, forces of the Shabwa defense units confronted and thwarted the assault, which resulted in the killing of three STC soldiers and injuries to seven others.
A military official told Xinhua that the Areen military base, seized by STC forces during an offensive launched days earlier, was first targeted by a drone strike, followed by a ground attack by unknown masked gunmen.
The official added that the Areen base has strategic significance due to its location between the two oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib.
On Thursday, Chief of Yemen's internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Rashad Al-Alimi renewed calls for STC forces to withdraw from territories they have recently captured in the country's southeastern regions.
According to the state-run Saba News Agency, Al-Alimi urged the STC's southern forces to hand over authority to local administrations, warning that continued military escalation could lead to further bloodshed. However, the southern forces, led by Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, who also serves as a vice chief of the PLC, rejected the call and continued their military deployments.
Established in 2017, the STC has consistently pursued the independence of southern Yemen, which has frequently put it at odds with state institutions, despite its involvement in the country's power-sharing government and its role in the current collective leadership. ■
