The Yemeni army troops have managed to regain control over several villages nearby al-Qaida-held town of Jaar after intensive clashes with fighters of the terrorist group, leaving at least 25 militants and six soldiers killed, the local government official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
"The al-Qaida militants failed to confront the army push and ceded their sites in Hassin, Rawa and two other villages on the outskirts of Jaar town," the government official said.
"Army soldiers are now patrolling the villages near Jaar and resized two tanks along with other military vehicles form the al- Qaida," he added.
An army commander said that the Yemeni air forces hit al-Qaida compound in downtown Jaar late on Sunday night, with no immediate reports of casualties.
Pro-government militiamen and troops of the elite Republican Guard force attacked al-Qaida militants on Monday outside the coastal town of Shakra on the Gulf of Aden, which is under al-Qaid 's control, according to tribal sources.
"About eight al-Qaida militants were killed and six troops were wounded in battles along a main road that links Shakra with Wadea town in Abyan," the source 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 worsened.
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.
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