Takfiri terrorists in Syria are being transferred to Yemen to join the ranks of Saudi forces and mercenaries fighting Yemeni forces in the strategic central province of Ma’rib, Lebanon's al-Akbar newspaper reports.
Citing Yemeni intelligence sources, the paper said al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants are waiting for terrorists from Syria to arrive in Yemen's southern province of Abyan.
The report said the Saudi command center in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden has even instructed the al-Qaeda warlord in Abyan to secure the entry points for terrorists arriving from Syria and other countries.
Security and intelligence sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said AQAP terrorists have been tasked with transporting the incoming militants and their weapons to Ma'rib.
For the past two weeks, al-Qaeda terrorists have been deployed in vast areas off the coast in Abyan under the command of a high-profile militant identified as Salem al-Shina, with the operations being coordinated with the Salafist Islah Party amd the Saudi command center, the report said.
According to local sources, al-Qaeda terrorists are roaming publicly in the areas of Wadi Hamra, Yahmas, al-Maraqasha and al-Wazi’, and have repeatedly met with senior Saudi military figures at their barracks.
According to al-Akhbar, al-Qaeda terrorists launched a series of attacks last week on the positions of Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists in order to secure the arrival of fellow militants from Syria.
Over the past few weeks, Ma’rib has been the scene of large-scale operations by the Yemeni troops and allied Popular Committees fighters, who are pushing against Saudi-led mercenaries and militants loyal to Yemen's former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and its other regional allies, launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Yemen's former president back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.
The Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees have, however, gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.
The Saudi-led military aggression, meanwhile, has left more than 200,000 Yemenis dead, and displaced millions of people.
It has also destroyed Yemen's infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases across the country.