A Yemeni military source reported the killing of four soldiers and wounding three others of the Southern Transitional Council forces, today, Sunday, in the southern province of Abyan.

The military source (loyal to the STC), who asked not to be named, told the German News Agency (dpa), that this came as a result of the explosion of two explosive devices planted by al-Qaeda members at the entrance to Wadi Amran of the Al-Mahfad district in Abyan.

The source pointed out that the southern forces are still continuing to cleanse the rest of the areas in Abyan from the elements of the organization within the "Sharq Arrows" operation.

This comes a day after the forces of the Southern Transitional Council announced their control of the Al-Mahfad district, "and expelled al-Qaeda elements from it."

On August 22, the Transitional Council launched a military operation called "Arrows of the East", to combat what it described as "terrorist organizations in Abyan."

The organization’s elements are active in Abyan and a number of governorates in the south and east of the country, taking advantage of the security weakness and the conditions resulting from the war that the country has been witnessing for eight years.