Yemeni soldiers and tribesmen killed 14 Al-Qaeda suspects, including two North Africans and a Saudi, in the country’s restive south, local officials and tribal sources said on Tuesday. The 119th Brigade commanded by dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar fired artillery shells and rockets on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, on Monday evening killing 11 militants.
“The 11 Al-Qaeda members killed include a Mauritanian, an Algerian named Samir Boumedienne, and a Saudi named Al-Sayadi, in addition to two Somalis,” a local official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that the brigade launched the attack from the adjacent village of al-Kud. “Seven militants were wounded in the Zinjibar bombing,” another official said. Meanwhile in the nearby village of Mudia, “three Al-Qaeda fighters were killed and two wounded when gunmen attacked a house where they were hiding,” a tribal source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The attack took place “shortly after an explosive device blew up in Mudia killing two armed tribesmen and wounding five others,” the source said, blaming Al-Qaeda linked militants for the attack.
Tribesmen have joined government troops in battling the Al-Qaeda linked Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) group which overran Zinjibar in May. The militants have taken advantage of a weakening of central authority since January, when tens of thousands of Yemenis launched an unprecedented protest movement against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime. Despite months of clashes, government troops have so far been unable to take back full control of Abyan’s towns and cities.