4 al-Qaida suspects killed in clash with Yemeni security forces in Aden

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least four al-Qaida suspects were killed when Yemeni security forces opened fire on a group of terrorists in the southern port city of Aden on Tuesday morning, a police officer told Xinhua.

Security forces stormed a house in Aden's neighborhood of Mansoura and attempted to arrest some wanted terrorists, but the armed group started shooting at the security troops, sparking a short gun battle that left four al-Qaida suspects killed at the scene, the local police officer said, requesting anonymity.

"Four al-Qaida suspects were killed during the raid... All of them were plotting armed attacks and suicide bombings against several military bases and government officials across the port city of Aden," the police officer said.

During the armed confrontations, four security personnel were also injured and taken to a nearby military hospital for treatment, he added.

Security troops had reportedly stormed the suspected al-Qaida house using machine guns aimed at a group of people gathering there, according to witnesses near the scene.

A security source told Xinhua anonymously that "members of domestic intelligence agents had traced the al-Qaida suspects to a house in Mansoura neighborhood early in the day."

"Authorities found and confiscated military uniforms and arms during the raid carried out in cooperation with the anti-terrorism special forces," the security source said.

He also said that explosive-devices and home-made grenades were found as well.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot has exploited Yemen's year- long security vacuum during protests against the long-time ruler Saleh and controlled several southern cities for more than a year before they were driven out by a U.S.-backed army offensive.

On June 20, Yemen's military officials announced seizing al- Qaida's last bastion in the country's troubled south following the army offensive.

However, local military and anti-terrorism experts said that the Yemeni al-Qaida branch is still a major threat to the impoverished Arab country.

from XINHUA
2012-10-02 15:09:37

Read More

Yemeni warplanes bomb two al-Qaida hideouts

map by Evan Centanni - www.polgeonow.com

ADEN, Yemen, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni fighter jets bombed two al-Qaida hideouts in the southern province of Abyan on Saturday, a security official told Xinhua without giving the number of casualties in raids.

The air forces bombed two compounds belonging to the al-Qaida militants near Mahfad town in Abyan province, while they were preparing to launch a fresh assault at government soldiers patrolling the restive area, the security official said on condition of anonymity.

"It was not immediately clear if any of the al-Qaida militants or some of their local leaders were killed in the air strikes. The bombing was in response to Wednesday's al-Qaida attack on pro- government checkpoints," the official said.

A local resident told Xinhua anonymously that "huge black smokes and fire erupted in one of the targeted compounds after military aircrafts fired some rockets on it."

"An abandoned al-Qaida training site was also pounded in the air shelling," he added.

The Yemeni government forces have been fighting al-Qaida militants in the southern province of Abyan for years, and hundreds of soldiers have lost their lives.

In the past two months, a U.S.-backed offensive managed to expel al-Qaida militants from their major strongholds in the southern province of Abyan, which they had controlled for nearly one year during the political unrest in Yemen.

However, the al-Qaida militants still have a strong presence in the Mahfad town and some mountainous areas in Abyan.

Fighting al-Qaida militants in the restive south is one of the challenges confronting current Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions and to uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.

from XINHUA
2012-07-28 23:03:15

Read More

Yemeni security forces detain 3 al-Qaida militants in south

ADEN, Yemen, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security forces on Sunday evening detained three al-Qaida militants who planned for armed attacks and terrorist operations in the southern province of Lahj, a security official told Xinhua.

The al-Qaida militants planned to carry out coordinated attacks on government and intelligence offices across Lahj province, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"A small pick-up truck with explosive devices that they aimed to use in their terrorist operations was also seized," he added.

The captured militants are currently under intelligence investigation, according to the official.

The militants were arrested a few hours after Yemen's military said it had placed its security services on high alert to prevent any imminent terrorist attacks and suicide operations against security and military checkpoints across the country.

The Yemeni government began to chase al-Qaida militants in the country's southern regions since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, and announced major victory in June after the army recaptured several cities that had been held by al-Qaida for more than one year.

However, the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing then launched a series of assassinations and suicide attacks across the country.

It carried out a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden on June 18 and killed the commander of Yemen's southern military region. The group also launched a suicide attack in the capital Sanaa on July 11 and killed more than 20 police cadets.

from XINHUA
2012-07-23 02:50:21

Read More

U.S. drone strike kills 3 al-Qaida militants in Yemen's Aden

ADEN, Yemen, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed three suspected al-Qaida militants on Monday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden while they were travelling on a desert road, a security official told Xinhua.

The air bombing occurred near the desert area of Beer Hameed on the outskirts of Aden, and killed three suspected al-Qaida militants, including a senior commander of the terrorist group, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"Two missiles bombed an al-Qaida convoy, destroying a small pick-up truck and killing all passengers inside," the security official said, adding that "They were coming from neighboring Abyan province, where army troops seized control of the al-Qaida bastions."

It is the first drone strike in Aden's suburbs, according to the official.

"The identity and nationality of the slain commander of the al- Qaida group is not immediately known," a senior military intelligence officer told Xinhua anonymously.

Meanwhile, the country's Defense Ministry said in a brief text message obtained by Xinhua that about 73 people were killed in the southern Abyan province over the past few days in explosions from land mines planted by al-Qaida militants before they fled the province.

The U.S.-backed army offensive forced al-Qaida militants to flee several bastions in the country's restive southern and eastern provinces which they captured during last year's political turmoil.

The al-Qaida militants remain in control of the smaller town of Mahfad in Abyan and some small cities in neighboring Shabwa province.

Combating al-Qaida militants in the restive south is one of the challenges confronting current Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions and uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.


from XINHUA
2012-06-25 20:06:14

Read More

Yemeni troops clash with al-Qaida militants in south, 39 killed

ADEN, Yemen, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 33 al-Qaida militants and six army soldiers were killed during intensive clashes in Yemen's southern province of Abyan early Monday, a government official said.

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.

Read More

9 al-Qaida militants killed in southern Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni army clashed with fighters of the al-Qaida terrorist group on Sunday in the southern province of Abyan, leaving at least nine militants killed, an military official said.

The armed clashes took place between the army troops and al- Qaida militants across the neighborhoods of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, killing at least six militants, the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

On the same day, fighting broke out around the al-Qaida-held town of Jaar in Abyan, three militants were killed, the military official said.

Meanwhile, a government official told Xinhua anonymously that troops of Yemen's elite Republican Guard force regained control over two strategic sites that overlook the al-Qaida-controlled town of Shakara in Abyan.

A local resident said that "dozens of families have fled their homes on Sunday as the government troops outflanked the coastal town of Shakra."

The country's defense ministry praised the "significant victories made by pro-government militiamen who fight alongside the army troops against the al-Qaida terrorist group in Abyan."

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.

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.

Read More

2 al-Qaida commanders killed in air strike in southern Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni air force raided an al-Qaida-controlled site in the southern province of Abyan on Thursday, killing at least two commanders of the terrorist group and injuring seven others, a security official said.

"The two al-Qaida commanders were killed in the air strike while they were inspecting a checkpoint in eastern Mudiyah town," the local security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, witnesses told Xinhua anonymously that an air raid pounded a pick-up truck belonging to the al-Qaida militants while it was passing through a desert road in Jaar, Abyan's second largest town.

"The al-Qaida vehicle was loaded with heavy weapons before it was bombed, causing a huge explosion at the area," the witnesses said.

"Some of al-Qaida militants believed to have been killed or injured in the attack," they added.

On the same day, a tribal chief said anti-Qaida militia have managed to foil two al-Qaida suicide attacks outside Lauder town in Abyan.

"We intercepted an al-Qaida suicide bomber with an explosives- laden car at Lauder's entrance," the tribal chief said.

"Also earlier in the day an al-Qaida suicide attacker with an explosives belt was shot dead by our fighters near a tribal checkpoint," he added.

The Yemeni government troops have waged an intensive military campaign, with support of the United States and Yemen's oil-rich neighbor Saudi Arabia, against several bastions of the al-Qaida terrorist group in Abyan province since last month.

The offensive aimed at recapturing several southern towns and cities seized by the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula during last year's political chaos.

Read More