Policeman, Al-Qaeda chief killed in south Yemen clashes

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA

A policeman and an Al-Qaeda leader were both killed in clashes in Yemen’s southern Abyan province, according to a statement issued Monday by police in Aden, which currently serves as the country’s provisional capital.

"Security forces raided the village of Lodar [in Abyan] where they clashed with Al-Qaeda militants," the statement read.

"Abdullah Saeed Hubeibat, an Al-Qaeda leader, was killed in the clashes, along with one of our soldiers," it added.

Elsewhere in Abyan, according to the same statement, Yemeni security forces arrested "Al-Qaeda operative" Abu Osama al-Yassiri after raiding his home in the province’s Al-Wadeei directorate.

Al-Qaeda, for its part, has yet to confirm or deny the assertions.

Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since late 2014, when the Shia Houthi militia overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

In March of last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi gains and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, pro-Hadi forces have since managed to reclaim large swathes of the country’s south -- including Aden -- but have failed to retake Sanaa and other strategic areas.