Yemeni troops sent Al-Qaeda fighters fleeing from the southern city of Loder on Thursday and pressed towards militant-controlled Zinjibar, military officials said, as an army offensive pushed into a sixth day. “We have cleansed Loder (of Al-Qaeda) and the fighters have been forced to flee,” a military official involved in the assault told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said that Al-Qaeda gunmen retreated from three positions on the outskirts of Loder, in southern Abyan province, which they have been trying to overrun for several months. Thousands of Loder residents took to the streets to celebrate the minor military victory while gunmen from the local militias danced and waved their guns in the air. “Today we accomplished a great victory against Al-Qaeda,” said Ali Ahmed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees militia, comprising local residents who are fighting alongside the army against Al-Qaeda. “We will continue chasing them (Al-Qaeda) until they have been ousted from all of Abyan,” said Ahmed, referring to Yemen’s southern province where the extremists have taken control of several cities since May last year. The bodies of three soldiers, three local gunmen, and two Al-Qaeda fighters were discovered near the city Thursday, one military official said but gave no further details. One civilian was also killed and five others injured in an army raid on the town of Shaqra, also controlled by Al-Qaeda, a local official said. Thursday’s casualties bring the death toll from six days of fighting to at least 158, including 105 Al-Qaeda operatives, 23 soldiers, 17 civilians and 13 militiamen.
