Four Killed in Yemen Anti-Qaida Offensive
Two civilians and two officers have been killed in an all-out offensive by Yemeni forces on Wednesday against al-Qaida groups that recently seized villages in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, officials said.
Troops backed by tanks and helicopters launched a dawn operation in Ghayl Bawazir, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of the port city of Mukalla, a security official said.
Witnesses said they saw military convoys heading in the direction of the area, which officials said had been seized by al-Qaida gunmen last month.
Medics at a hospital in Mukalla said two civilians were killed and five others were wounded, while seven soldiers were also injured.
Another security official said two army officers were killed during the offensive near Ghayl Bawazir which would continue until the "liberation" of the town and the surrounding areas.
Army forces also targeted al-Qaida militants in the nearby town of Shihr and the village of Qara, a security official said.
A convoy of 40 armored vehicles headed to Shihr while other troops laid siege to Qara, where large numbers of militants are believed to be based, he said.
Al-Qaida fighters have been regrouping since June 2012 in areas of Hadramawt after being driven out of the southern province of Abyan where they ruled major towns for about a year.
Residents of Ghayl Bawazir told AFP last month the jihadists had taken advantage of an absence of security forces from the area to deploy in strength and had already distributed leaflets declaring their rule.
In areas of the south they seized in 2011, taking advantage of a collapse of central government control during 11 months of protests that eventually forced veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh from power, the militants enforced a strict version of Islamic law.
Punishments included public executions and amputations.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, which is based in Yemen, is considered by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the jihadist network.
Source: Agence France Presse
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