Yemen: Yemeni troops backed by Arab coalition air strikes killed more than 800 people belonging to Al-Qaeda in an attack on a southeastern provincial capital held by the group for the last year, then coaliation said on Monday.
“The esteemed operation resulted in the death of more than 800 Al-Qaeda members and some of their leaders, while some others fled ” Arab coalition commanders said in a statement to the official Saudi news agency. The operation was part of a wider offensive aimed at securing parts of the country captured by jihadist militants who have exploited a 13-month war between Gulf-backed loyalist and rebels supported by Iran.
It coincides with UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait after a ceasefire entered into effect on April 11, but from which jihadists groups are excluded. “We entered the city centre (of Mukalla) and were met by no resistance from Al-Qaeda militants who withdrew west” towards the vast desert in Hadramawt and Shabwa provinces, a military officer told news agency by phone from the city the jihadists seized last April.
The officer, who requested anonymity, said residents of Mukalla, home to an estimated 200,000 people, had appealed to the jihadists to spare the city the destruction of fighting and to withdraw. Yemeni military sources said Emirati military vehicles were used in the operation and that troops from the Gulf country, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition, were among the forces that entered Mukalla.
