Yemen: Military kills 21 al-Qaida members in south
Country's Defense Ministry sends statement detailing that army troops also destroyed weapons and ammunition cache in Zinjibar.
By REUTERSSoldiers at demonstration in Yemen 311 (R)(photo credit: REUTERS)
ADEN - Yemen's Defense Ministry said the military had killed 21 al-Qaida "terrorists" on Saturday in the southern Abyan province, whose capital, Zinjibar was seized by Islamist militants last month.In a statement sent by text message, the ministry said Yemeni forces killed 18 al-Qaida members in Zinjibar, and three in another city in the province, Lawdar. Army troops also destroyed a weapons and ammunition cache in Zinjibar, it said.RELATED:Al Jazeera: Yemeni VP is declared acting leader400 wounded in Yemen as protesters, police clashThe New York Times reported on Wednesday that the Obama administration has intensified air strikes on suspected militants in Yemen in a bid to keep them from consolidating power as the government in Sanaa teeters, .A US official confirmed to Reuters that a US strike last Friday killed Abu Ali Harithi, a midlevel al-Qaida operative, which followed last month's attempted strike against Anwar Awlaki, the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.Citing US officials, the Times said a US campaign using armed drones and fighter jets had accelerated in recent weeks as US officials see the strikes as one of the few options to contain al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.Click for full Jpost coverage of turmoil in the Middle East
