Two security personnel in the internationally recognized government were killed Thursday evening in an ambush by gunmen belonging to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Shabwa governorate’s Jardan district, a local security official told Almasdar Online.

The ambush, which killed the brother of Shabwa’s special forces commander Brig. Gen. Abdrabbuh La’kab, came hours after a tribal mediation agreement with the head of the governorate’s security committee and Gov. Mohammed Bin Adyo, on Thursday afternoon, to ease tensions following a similar incident. 

In the wake of the ambushes, security forces pushed reinforcements to Jardan to pursue what the source described as "saboteurs" loyal to Raed Dhabab, the head of the STC in the district. Jardan is located east of Shabwa’s capital Ataq, in the center of the governorate.

“The security services are working on the arrest of all the saboteurs and those responsible for today's events," the source said. 

In recent years, gunmen aligned with the Emirati-backed Transitional council (STC) have carried out ambush operations and attacks against the army and security forces in Shabwa. Since joining the war as part of the Saudi-led coalition, the UAE has operated a military base on the southern coast of Shabwa and has built up a militia of fighters known as the Shabwani Elite in the governorate.

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Edited by Casey Coombs