ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 al-Qaida militants were killed and dozens of others were injured on Wednesday evening when a U.S. drone struck several targets of the terrorist group in Yemen's volatile southern province of Abyan, a local senior army officer said.
The U.S. drone strike bombed an abandoned hotel and a primary school on the eastern outskirts of Jaar city, Abyan's second largest city, where dozens of the al-Qaida militants gathered, killing at least 10 terrorists and injuring scores of others.
The U.S. drone was still hovering intensively over the region, the officer said, adding that the air strikes also caused casualties among civilians.
Local residents in Jaar told Xinhua that dozens of families have fled during the past two days to nearby provinces of Aden and Lahj, fearing renewed botched air strikes by the Yemeni air forces and the U.S. drones.
Earlier the day, eight government troops were killed and 20 others were injured in clashes with members of the terrorist group on the southwestern outskirts of the al-Qaida-seized city of Zinjibar.
The country's defense ministry Wednesday quoted an army officer as saying that "a great progress was made on the ground by the army forces which have taken full control of some regions in Abyan ".
Dozens of the al-Qaida militants were killed while the rest fled away with huge losses among their ranks, according to the ministry.
Militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have taken advantage of the country's political turmoil to seize several towns in the nearly lawless southern and eastern provinces.
No comments:
Post a Comment