Army troops shell al-Qaida targets in S Yemen's Abyan, 9 killed

ADEN, Yemen, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Units of the army troops carried out a heavy shelling targeting several al-Qaida hideouts on Tuesday, killing 9 members of the terrorist group and wounding dozens of others in Yemen's southern volatile province of Abyan, a local army officer told Xinhua.

The officer said on condition of anonymity that a number of army units supported by tribal fighters tried to make progress towards the al-Qaida seized of Zinjibar city, the provincial capital of Abyan province by launching heavy artillery attacks on the terrorist group's hideouts surrounding the southern entrances of the Zinjibar city, leaving at least 9 killed and dozens of others wounded.

Fierce armed clashes were still going on in various areas of the Abyan province, the officer said.

Meanwhile, a printed statement released by al-Qaida militants Tuesday imposed threats to the tribal fighters who offer any collaboration or support to the army forces in the ongoing fighting against the group's members.

"The al-Qaida militants call on the tribesmen who announced their engagement among the army troops in the fighting against our group not to indulge in such serious acts, which would lead to a devastating war," read the statements distributed among local residents.

Meanwhile, the country's Defense Ministry quoted an army officer as saying on Tuesday that the 25th Mechanized Brigade troops killed a large number of the al-Qaida militants during the past two-day battles in the center of the Zinjibar city, including a leader called "Abu Sunbul".

An ammunition and weapons storage containing advanced communication means were completely destroyed, the ministry added.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, is a key stronghold of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has stepped up their activities in southern and eastern provinces of the impoverished Arab country as its cash-stripped government was in the grip of five-month-long protests demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.