4 AQAP fighters killed in drone strike in southern Yemen

By Bill Roggio - July 3, 2012 - LWJ

The US killed four people, including two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, in a drone airstrike in southern Yemen.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a vehicle in Shabwa province earlier today, The Associated Press. Two of the men were identified as Hussein Rubai and Fahad al Harithi, and "were known for ties to al Qaeda and provided shelter for militants."

No senior AQAP leaders or operatives are reported to have been killed in the strike.

Today's drone strike took place after the Yemeni military claimed it broke up three AQAP cells planning to conduct attacks against foreign embassies and government personnel. The military said that "four Egyptians, two Jordanians, a Somali, a Tunisian, and a man from Dagestan in Russia's North Caucasus" were among those arrested, according to Reuters.

Foreign fighters have been killed in Yemen in the past, This year, two Jordanians, including Abu Hammam, the nephew of slain al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, were killed in drone strikes.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/07/4_aqap_fighters_kill.php#ixzz1zjRKf83i

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• 4 AQAP fighters killed in drone strike in southern Yemen (longwarjournal.org)

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3 al-Qaida senior members killed by Yemeni warplanes

Location of the governorate of Abyan, in Yemen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ADEN, Yemen, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Three senior members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed Monday when warplanes struck their vehicle in the southern province of Abyan, a security official said.

The warplanes hit a vehicle carrying three commanders of the al- Qaida terrorist group while they were moving to oversee the fighting with army troops on the outskirts of Jaar, Abyan's second largest town, the local security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Their bodies were found inside the destroyed car," the security official said.

The army troops backed by pro-government militia continued to fight with al-Qaida militants and seized part of areas close to the insurgents-controlled town of Jaar, an army officer said.

"Now army soldiers are stationed about 2 km from the center of the town," the army officer said anonymously.

Up to 25 injured soldiers were taken to the neighboring province of Lahj for treatment, according to the army officer.

Local resident said, "Huge explosions are still rocking Jaar as army troops determined to eradicate al-Qaida's sites."

On the same day, a total of 33 al-Qaida militants and six army soldiers were killed during intensive clashes that took place in villages near Jaar town, a government official said.

The Yemeni government troops have stepped up military operations in Abyan in order to oust al-Qaida militants who have seized control of large swaths in the restive south during last year's political turmoil.

Government troops and reinforcements of counter-terrorism units assembled by the Yemeni military began last month offensives on al- Qaida bastions in Abyan, which made living conditions of thousands of displaced residents worsen.

Senior leaders of the Yemeni military, with support of U.S. counter-terrorism experts, have vowed to uproot the al-Qaida's regional bases from Yemen.

2012-06-11 23:41:19

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At least 32 killed in new Yemen offensive on militants

(Reuters) - At least 32 people, including 23 al Qaeda-linked militants were killed in Yemen, officials and residents said on Tuesday, as the government pressed ahead with a new U.S.-backed offensive against insurgents in the south of the country.

Washington has stepped up its drone attacks in Yemen since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, and the Pentagon said last week it had recently resumed sending military trainers to the Arab state.

A growing Islamist insurgency in Yemen is of serious concern to the United States and oil exporter Saudi Arabia, who both fear that political infighting could give al Qaeda's regional wing a foothold near oil shipping routes through the Red Sea.

Residents and local officials said heavy fighting erupted overnight between the Yemeni army and militants in an area called al-Jabalain in the south of the country, as the army tried to advance on the militant-held city of Jaar.

The clashes continued until early on Tuesday, killing at least eight militants and one Yemeni soldier, they said, adding the army had captured two Somali Islamist fighters.

Separately, an airstrike by Yemeni warplanes killed six civilians by mistake in Jaar, a city in Abyan province and a stronghold of al Qaeda fighters, residents said. Another strike hit two suspected militant vehicles and killed its seven passengers, they added.

Near the southern town of Lawdar eight militants and two army-allied tribal fighters were killed in clashes at an area called Jebel Yasuf, 10 km (6 miles) from Lawdar, a tribal source said. The army and tribesman regained control of Jebel Yasuf, the source added.

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Yemeni air raids kill 45 al-Qaida militants in restive south

Yemen division 2012-3-11 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ADEN, Yemen, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Intensified Yemeni airstrikes bombed several al-Qaida hideouts in the southern province of Lahj, killing a total of 45 militants on Tuesday, a government official told Xinhua.

The air strikes which were carried out by Yemeni air forces hit several hideouts of the terrorists, killing as many as 45 al-Qaida militants in Lahj's suburbs close to the insurgents-controlled town of Jaar in neighboring Abyan province, the local government official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The air raids on Tuesday are against al-Qaida hideouts in the mountainous area of Rahah in the suburbs of Lahj, where fierce battles took place between the government troops and militants during the past three days, leaving dozens of people killed," the official said.

"Some of the al-Qaida militants were killed late Monday during overnight air strikes on fortifications around the army base which was overran by the terrorists on Saturday," the intelligence officer said.

"The army forces were trying to regain control over the region, but did not make any progress for fear of suicide bombings," he added.

On Sunday, militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch shot dead 15 army soldiers held captives during Saturday's fighting in the southern province of Lahj, according to military officials.

The Yemeni army and security forces have recently been attacked by the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the restive southern regions. Hundreds of government troops were either killed or injured during deadly suicide bombings and fierce battles with al-Qaida insurgents in the province of Abyan during the past two months.

Taking advantage of the one-year-long political conflicts, the resurgent AQAP, locally known as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), has taken control of several cities and swathes across the country's restive southern provinces.

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