Yemeni army recaptures Hadhramout village

The Yemeni army yesterday launched a military campaign to expel Al-Qaeda from a remote village in Yemen’s southern Hadhramout province.

Hadhramout’s governor, Major-General Ahmad Bin Bourek announced yesterday that local forces backed by the Yemeni army, who were trained by the UAE, recaptured a village from Al-Qaeda in the Al-Mouhamden valley, located in the west of Hadhramout’s capital city Mukalla. Saudi Arabia provided aerial support during the offensive.

Bin Bourek refused to give further details until after the operation, though local sources said clashes broke out after the local Hadhrami forces stormed the village.

Al-Qaeda took control of the coastal city of Mukalla over a year ago, along with other coastal cities in Hadhramout. In April, they began to flee the city after an operation was launched against them when multiple senior Al-Qaeda militants were arrested in police raids.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Shia Houthi fighters allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes.