17 die in clashes as Yemeni army tries to regain key town
Source: Agencies |
May 21, 2012, Monday
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FRESH clashes between al-Qaida fighters and government forces in Yemen left 17 dead yesterday, military officials said, as the army pushed on with an offensive to regain a key town in the county's south that fell to the militants over a year ago.
Officials said eight al-Qaida fighters, four soldiers and five civilian volunteers fighting alongside the military were killed yesterday.
The army started a two-pronged attack on Jaar on Friday. It is part of a broader assault to take back Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which has been also under al-Qaida control for over a year.
Al-Qaida-linked fighters took advantage of Yemen's 2011 uprising to overrun a swath of territory and several towns in the south, pushing out government forces and establishing their own rule. In recent weeks, the army has launched a concerted effort to uproot the militants from their strongholds - and is closely coordinating with a small contingent of US troops who are helping guide the operations from inside Yemen.
Officials say US drones have given data to their forces.
The officials said Yemeni warplanes pounded targets some 5 kilometers outside Jaar. Up to 70 percent of Jaar's residents have fled the town over the past months to escape the fighting.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the militants used suicide car bombing against military checkpoints and vehicles to hinder the army's advance and had called for reinforcements from neighboring towns.
Yemen's new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, took office in February as part of a US- and Saudi-backed deal aimed at ending the unrest. He has made fighting al-Qaida one of his top priorities.
The official news agency SABA said Major General Ken Tovo, a US general commanding special operations, met Saturday with Yemen's chief of staff Major General Ahmed Ali al-Ashwal and discussed US aid to Yemen in combating terrorism and the fight against al-Qaida.
Yemen's Defense Minister Major General Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, who is supervising the operations in the south, paid a 24-hour visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday.
Officials said eight al-Qaida fighters, four soldiers and five civilian volunteers fighting alongside the military were killed yesterday.
The army started a two-pronged attack on Jaar on Friday. It is part of a broader assault to take back Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which has been also under al-Qaida control for over a year.
Al-Qaida-linked fighters took advantage of Yemen's 2011 uprising to overrun a swath of territory and several towns in the south, pushing out government forces and establishing their own rule. In recent weeks, the army has launched a concerted effort to uproot the militants from their strongholds - and is closely coordinating with a small contingent of US troops who are helping guide the operations from inside Yemen.
Officials say US drones have given data to their forces.
The officials said Yemeni warplanes pounded targets some 5 kilometers outside Jaar. Up to 70 percent of Jaar's residents have fled the town over the past months to escape the fighting.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the militants used suicide car bombing against military checkpoints and vehicles to hinder the army's advance and had called for reinforcements from neighboring towns.
Yemen's new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, took office in February as part of a US- and Saudi-backed deal aimed at ending the unrest. He has made fighting al-Qaida one of his top priorities.
The official news agency SABA said Major General Ken Tovo, a US general commanding special operations, met Saturday with Yemen's chief of staff Major General Ahmed Ali al-Ashwal and discussed US aid to Yemen in combating terrorism and the fight against al-Qaida.
Yemen's Defense Minister Major General Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, who is supervising the operations in the south, paid a 24-hour visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday.
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