Yemeni troops kill 62 militants in southern regions

26 May 2012, 23:27 (GMT+05:00)

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Yemeni troops stationed in southern Abyan province killed 62 al-Qaeda-linked fighters and injured dozens more, the Defence Ministry reported Saturday, dpa reported.

The army managed to clear all positions used by members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia group (Partisans of the Islamic Law) from the eastern areas of the city of Zinjibar in Abyan, the ministry's 26sep.net website reported.

The dead hailed from a variety of countries, including Somalia, the report added.

Three soldiers were reportedly killed in the armed confrontations with al-Qaeda.

Armed raids on al-Qaeda in Yemen's Abyan province are supported by local volunteers who fight along side the troops.

Last week, an al-Qaeda-linked suicide bomber killed more than 90 soldiers during a military parade rehearsal in Sana'a.

Yemen has been stepping up its fight against militants in the southern parts of the country, in response to actions by al-Qaeda fighters to strengthen their foothold in Yemen, taking advantage of a year of political turmoil and a weak central government in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.