Local Editor
A military official stated that the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch seized two towns in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan after clashes with pro-Hadi forces on Wednesday.
The al-Qaeda militants launched coordinated attacks in the morning against forces loyal to former fugitive president Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi and took control of Jaar and Abyan’s provincial capital of Zinjibar.
Witnesses said that a senior tribal commander and several others were killed in the fighting in Abyan.
Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.
The al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP], also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009. It had claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Yemen’s army and government institutions.
It took advantage of the current security vacuum to expand its influence in Yemen’s southern regions.
Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March, a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia led a military campaign in an attempt to restore power to staunch ally fugitive former president Hadi.
More than 6,000 people have been killed and over 14,000 others wounded since late March.
Sources: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
