Clashes between Al-Qaeda militants and the army on the outskirts of Zinjibar in Yemen’s restive south left 20 people dead, mostly jihadists, as soldiers advanced towards the city, the defence ministry said Friday. “Eighteen Al-Qaeda militants were killed and dozens wounded while the rest fled” the clashes on the outskirts of the extremists’ stronghold of Zinjibar, which Yemeni troops have been trying to retake since May, the ministry’s website 26sep.net said. “Two soldiers were also killed while seven others were wounded” in the clashes that erupted late on Thursday, it said. AFP could not independently verify the toll. The ministry said the army had “made a major advance towards Zinjibar, driving out the terrorist Al-Qaeda elements from several positions they held.” Since May 2011, the army has been battling the extremist group’s Yemeni branch, known as the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law), which took over Zinjibar, in an attempt to regain control of the capital of Abyan province. The website 26sep.net also reported that Islamist insurgents were planning to target gas terminals and companies in Belhaf, Shabwa province, with “six bomb-laden cars driven by six suicide bombers.” “The interior ministry has given orders to Shabwa security services to deal seriously with this information and to take the security measures needed to foil this terrorist plot by Al-Qaeda,” it said.
