Gunmen affiliated with the Islah Party have Monday morning kidnapped the head of a Southern Transitional Council (STC) branch in the al-Rawdha district of Abdulsalam Habtoor in Shabwah province, eastern Yemen.

Sources said that the Islah militants raided Habtoor’s home and took him to a prison located in Azzan Maifaa area.

The kidnapping of Habtoor came after an attack launched by armed tribesmen loyal to the STC targeted sites and military checkpoints of the Islah Party in al-Rawdha district.

Early in April, Islah militants kidnapped Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Sulimani, leader of the STC forces in Shabwah, along with four of his escorting troops.