Thirty-Seven Al Qaeda Militants Killed In Yemen

[Fukuoka]

Thirty-Seven Al Qaeda Militants Killed In Yemen

Thirty-seven al Qaeda militants have been killed in fighting in Yemen, the country's state news agency Saba is reporting.

A military source was quoted as saying most of those killed in the southern province of Shabwa were Saudis, Afghans, Somalis, Chechens and other nationalities.

The army destroyed a number of vehicles and weapons belonging to the fighters in the town of Meyfaa, the source added.

Yemeni forces launched a major offensive against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants last week.

On Friday, soldiers and warplanes killed five suspected militants in the same area as Sunday's fighting.

General Ahmed al-Yafie, commander of the Third Military Region, was quoted by Saba as saying the army is "unprecedentedly ready to face this terrorist organisation".

He added the "al Qaeda elements will not escape death" and soldiers will fight them "until they are uprooted from Yemen which cannot be a home for terrorism".

It is also being reported that a suicide car bomber has killed six Yemeni soldiers and wounded 20 more in the province.

Attacks against the army and security forces in the south have increased sharply since the launch of the offensive.

AQAP took advantage of the 2011 uprising that forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office to seize large parts of southern and eastern Yemen.

The group is a merger of al Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi branches.

The United States considers it to be the deadliest branch of the organisation's global network.

Washington has used drones to kill members and leaders of the group in recent years.