5 al-Qaida militants killed in Yemen army shelling

ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni army forces launched an artillery shelling against the al-Qaida positions early Saturday in southern volatile province of Abyan, killing at least five members of the terrorist group and injuring six others, an army officer said.

Positions and pockets of the al-Qaida militants in Bagdar and Amoodia neighborhoods east of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, were completely pounded by Katyusha rockets and artillery shells, the local army officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Five al-Qaida militants, including a leading member of the group of African nationality, were killed and six others injured in the army attacks," the officer said.

Local residents in Jaar city, another al-Qaida stronghold in Abyan where the dead militants were buried, confirmed the toll.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, has been witnessing daily fierce fighting after militants of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) captured Zinjibar and at least three other towns late in May.

Fears mounted that AQAP militants might exploit the protests in the impoverished country to expand its foothold in the country's southern regions.