Yemen deploys elite forces to cleanse Abyan from Al Qaida

Elite counter-terrorism forces have been deployed in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan to clear out Al Qaida hideouts.
Security authorities have urged residents to alert them about movements of Al Qaida and Daesh militants who have been sneaking back into main cities to stage attacks against government and military facilities.

“Help on a grassroots level will be a huge help to our efforts of eliminating those rogue elements,” the committee said in a statement.
The elite forces were trained in the coastal town of Shougra by military experts from the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Aden.
Major General Fadhel Hassan, the commander of Aden-based 4th Military Region, who attended the security committee’s meeting, told Gulf News on Monday that local authorities are determined to expel Al Qaida militants from their hiding places in Abyan including a chain of rough mountains that extends to Baydha and Shabwa provinces.

Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Qaida’s most dangerous branch in the world, have exploited the war against Iran-backed Al Houthi militants to expand their influence in Yemen’s southern provinces.Early last year, thousands of UAE-trained and armed Yemeni military forces inflicted a decisive blow to the militants after taking control of all of their strongholds in south Yemen including Al Mukalla, Yemen’s fifth largest city.
“Al Qaida will never be able allowed to take control of any area in Abyan,” Hassan said.
Also in Abyan, residents said on Sunday night that a US drone fired two missiles at a car carrying suspected Al Qaida militants in a small area near Moudia district.
Aden Al Ghad news site reported that the first missile missed the target and injured a man who was walking in the area and the second hit the driver when he was fleeing the car.

source: AFP