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4 soldiers, 3 al-Qaida militants killed in SE Yemen

20 June 2012 18:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least four army soldiers and three al-Qaida fighters were killed in armed confrontations in Yemen’s southeastern province of Shabwa on Wednesday, a military official said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The clashes occurred near the al-Qaida-held town of Azzan, as the army troops backed by counter-terrorism units presses an all- out assault against several bastions of the terrorist group in Shabwa province, the local military official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

About four army soldiers and three al-Qaida fighters were killed in the fighting that began shortly after noon and intensified two hours later, the military official said.

"Army is going to cleanse Shabwa from terrorists. Dozens of the al-Qaida well-trained fighters are still holed up across the mountainous areas," he added.

Local residents told Xinhua anonymously that "several leading members of the al-Qaida fled Azzan earlier this week, but the army did not seize the whole town."

The Yemeni security forces foiled a plot aiming to blow up several foreign embassies and facilities in the capital Sanaa, a police official told Xinhua late Tuesday.

Yemen’s military launched a withering assault aiming at quelling a resurgent branch of al-Qaida which has increased its attacks on both Western and government targets in the Arabian Peninsula state.

On Monday, the al-Qaida group claimed responsibility for assassinating Major General Salim Ali Qatan who was leading the fight against al-Qaida in the country’s south and had recently achieved some very important successes in pushing militants out of several key cities.

The poor Arab country is in the process of transition following a peaceful transfer of power in November 2011 by long-time leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, a move that ended 11-month mass protests against his rule.

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