Thursday, May 24, 2012

8 Yemeni soldiers, 25 al-Qaida militants killed in Abyan

ADEN, Yemen, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Clashes broke out outside the al-Qaida stronghold of Abyan in Yemen's southern regions on Wednesday, leaving about eight government soldiers and 25 terrorists killed, a military official said.

The armed forces were advancing inside Zinjibar, Abyan's provincial capital, which has been under siege for about two weeks, and met with strong resistance from al-Qaida fighters, the local military official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Several army barracks of the 25th Mechanized Brigade and 201st Armored Brigade repelled two al-Qaida groups overnight in Zinjibar, he added.

"We captured three pick-up trucks full of ammunition and two anti-aircraft guns," the army commander said.

A military intelligence officer told Xinhua anonymously that " al-Qaida militants are trying to flee Zinjibar front after they suffered heavy losses in recent days."

On the eve of Yemen's National Day, the al-Qaida group launched a suicide bombing attack against a military parade in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, leaving at least 90 soldiers killed and more than 200 others injured, in retaliation for the U.S. backed offensive against its bastions in Abyan.

Yemen is struggling to combat rampant inflation of the Yemen- based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which has seized and controlled several cities in the south, exploiting security vacuum during last year's unrest.

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