Yemen Troops Free City, Army Base from 'Qaoda' Control

Yemen's army has freed the southern city of Zinjibar, overrun by al-Qaida suspects in May, and ended a siege of an army base there, state news agency Saba quoted Yemeni officials as saying Saturday.

"The heroes of the security and armed forces and the loyal tribesmen have managed to kick out al-Qaida gangs from Zinjibar," Saba quoted the governor of Abyan province, Saleh Hussein al-Zoary, as saying.

He hailed "the victory of the heroes of the armed and security forces who have ended the blockade that lasted more than three months by al-Qaida militants on the 25th Mechanized Brigade and freeing the city of Zinjibar from the terrorist network's elements."

A military official earlier announced that the army had driven out the extremists from the central security building and was pursuing them across the city.

Residents of Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, contacted by telephone confirmed that the eastern part of the city has been freed but said battles were raging in other parts.

Soldiers from the 119th Brigade, loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar have been fighting the extremists’ side-by-side with the 31st and the 201st Brigades, both of which are loyal to embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a military official told Agence France Presse.

Saleh, meanwhile, congratulated "the brave fighters for their great victory in ending the blockade by al-Qaida militants supported by outlaws on the 25th Mechanized Brigade that has lasted more than three months," in a statement carried by Saba.

Embattled Saleh, recovering in Riyadh since June from bomb wounds sustained in an attack on his palace in Sanaa, thanked Saudi Arabia for its "logistic support."

He also thanked the United States for "the cooperation and information" it provided as part of "the bilateral efforts in fighting the terrorism threatening the region and the world."

Yemeni Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who replaces Saleh in his absence according to the constitution, congratulated "the Minister of Defense Major General Mohammad Nasser Ahmad and the military leadership in the south for their victory on al-Qaida's elements of terror in Abyan and other regions."

In May, a group known as the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic Law), believed to be affiliated with al-Qaida, seized control of most of Zinjibar and besieged the base of the 25th Mechanized Brigade on the outskirts of the town.

Since anti-government protests swept Yemen in late January, militants have taken advantage of the weakening of central authority to set up base in several southern provinces as well as Maarib province in the east.

The United Nations and Western governments have expressed growing concern about the role al-Qaida might play in Yemen if the regime of veteran Saleh collapses and a power vacuum ensues.

The United States, which had viewed Saleh as a key ally in its "war on terror," has warned of the threat posed by Islamist militancy in Yemen and repeatedly voiced concern over the country's potential to become a new staging ground for al-Qaida.