<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">An explosion caused by an improvised device killed six Yemeni separatist fighters on Monday during an anti-jihadist sweep in the south of the war-ravaged country, security sources said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>"Four Yemeni soldiers were killed and six others wounded in an IED explosion targeting a military vehicle" during a campaign targeting Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Abyan province, a security official told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>Two of the wounded later died of their injuries, the same official later said.</div><div><br></div><div>A second security source confirmed the original toll and the revised toll.</div><div><br></div><div>On September 6, 21 separatist fighters and six AQAP members were killed when an attack by the jihadists punctured months of relative peace.</div><div><br></div><div>Yemen has been gripped by conflict since Iran-backed Huthi rebels took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the beleaguered government the following year.</div><div><br></div><div>AQAP and militants loyal to the Islamic State group have thrived in the chaos.</div><div><br></div><div>A UN-brokered ceasefire has drastically reduced fighting between the government and Huthis since April, but outbreaks of violence continue.</div><div><br></div><div>The anti-Huthi camp includes motley groups such as the separatists targeted by Monday's IED blast.</div><div><br></div><div>They belong to a force known as the Security Belt, which is trained and equipped by the United Arab Emirates and which has played a key role in the fight against jihadists, forcing them to retreat from towns into rural areas.</div><div><br></div><div>The separatists aspire to create an independent South Yemen such as the state that existed until 1990.</div><div><br></div><div>The Security Belt force is tasked with protecting southern Yemeni regions which, with their access to the sea and the Horn of Africa, are of particular interest to the UAE.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the United Nations, the conflict in Yemen has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, and two thirds of the population need humanitarian aid. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>