Army forces kill six al-Qaida militants in S Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni army forces launched an intense artillery shelling against various position of the al-Qaida militants early Tuesday, killing at least six terrorists in the turbulent southern province of Abyan, a security official told Xinhua.

The al-Qaida positions and gatherings in the northeastern suburbs of Zinjibar city, the provincial capital of Abyan, were shelled by the army barracks with Katyusha rockets and artillery shells, killing at least six terrorists and injuring dozens of others, the security official said on condition of anonymity.

"Before the intense artillery shelling the army soldiers foiled an attack by the al-Qaida militants against an army barrack of the 119th Armored Army Brigade and exchanged machine-gun fire with them," the official said.

Saudis and Somalis were among the killed militants in the army bombing, according to the official.

An army officer engaged in the fighting told Xinhua that fierce clashes have been non-stop since Tuesday morning in five different fronts across Abyan province.

Since late January 2011, when protests erupted against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, the militants of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have been working to bolster their presence in the country's remote regions.

The group has taken control of several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists during the past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.