Yemeni troops kill 62 militants in southern regions

Yemeni troops stationed in southern Abyan province killed 62 al-Qaeda-linked fighters and injured dozens more, the Defence Ministry reported Saturday, dpa reported.
The army managed to clear all positions used by members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia group (Partisans of the Islamic Law) from the eastern areas of the city of Zinjibar in Abyan, the ministry’s 26sep.net website reported.
The dead hailed from a variety of countries, including Somalia, the report added.
Three soldiers were reportedly killed in the armed confrontations with al-Qaeda.
Armed raids on al-Qaeda in Yemen’s Abyan province are supported by local volunteers who fight along side the troops.
Last week, an al-Qaeda-linked suicide bomber killed more than 90 soldiers during a military parade rehearsal in Sana’a.
Yemen has been stepping up its fight against militants in the southern parts of the country, in response to actions by al-Qaeda fighters to strengthen their foothold in Yemen, taking advantage of a year of political turmoil and a weak central government in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.

Source: en.trend.az