Al-Qaeda bomber kills 3 Yemen soldiers

Members of a Yemeni military demining unit prepare to destroy unexploded bombs and mines collected from conflict areas near the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, in this August 1, 2017 photo. (REUTERS)
Updated 09 August 2017
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Al-Qaeda bomber kills 3 Yemen soldiers

ADEN: A suspected Al-Qaeda suicide bomber killed three Yemeni soldiers and wounded nine others in an attack Tuesday on an army position in the country’s south, military officials said.
The assailant used an explosives-rigged car to target the troops loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi who had recently set up the position in the town of Loder in Abyan province in their fight against the militants, the officials said.
Yemeni special forces, trained by the UAE and backed by the US, on Wednesday launched a major operation against the Al-Qaeda fighters, driving them out of Shabwa province.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition denied on Tuesday that it had targeted a home, after a health official alleged that nine civilians were killed in an airstrike.
Three women and six children were killed on Friday in the northwestern Saada province in an airstrike on their home, the head of the local health department, Dr. Abdel Ilah Al-Azzi, said.
“Col. Turki Al-Malki, official spokesman for the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, denied that coalition forces targeted a house in the Muhaddah area southwest of Saada,” it said in a statement posted on the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Al-Malki said the coalition was coordinating with its allies in Yemen’s government to investigate the incident and accused the Houthi movement of using civilian infrastructure to store weapons.


Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Updated 28 December 2025
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Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

  • Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
  • Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia

A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.

The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.

Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.

The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.

They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.

The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”

Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.

Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.