Two Al Qaeda commanders killed in clashes with pro-government forces

Two Al Qaeda commanders were killed in clashes with pro-government forces in southern Yemen on Tuesday.

Local Security Belt Forces in Abyan province recently launched a military operation targeting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The fighting on Tuesday took place in Moudiya district, a military source told The National.

“The campaign is called Crushing Revenge,” he said. “We’re tracking down terrorists belonging to Al Qaeda.

“Our forces carried out a big military operation in a mountainous area in Al Fathan in Moudiya, which led to the killing of Abu Al Darda Al Baydhani and Abu Qusai Al Adeni.”

The two were believed to be commanders leading dozens of militants, he said.

Despite continuing operations by Security Belt Forces in the province, Al Qaeda militants continue to hold pockets of territory in north-west Moudiya district.

The Security Belt Forces is a militia operating across Aden, Lahij and Abyan provinces in south Yemen.

The militia claims to have 10,000 fighters in its command.

“We inflicted a fatal blow to Al Qaeda in Moudiya and other districts in the province of Abyan in the previous operation, but this month this hidden cell broke into Al Fathan area coming from the neighbouring province of Al Baydha,” the source said.

“After receiving information about the existence of a terrorist cell, we launched an operation to secure the area but the area was too tough.

“The terrorist group had a hideout in a valley surrounded by rugged mountains, which made it very difficult to approach them. The road was very rough and inaccessible to armoured vehicles.

“The terrorist elements shelled us from hilltop positions so we decided not to storm the valley.

“We imposed a siege around them for three days and kept shelling the area until we had control of the area.”

The military operation comes three weeks after the assassination in Aden of Col Fahed Gharama, who commanded Security Belt Forces in Lawder district in Abyan province.

The Security Belt Forces is a militia that operates across several provinces and claims to have 10,000 fighters