Security forces struck several al Qaeda hideouts and training sites in Yemen on Thursday, killing up to 34 suspected militants, including four would-be suicide bombers who planned attacks at home and abroad. At least 17 suspected militants were arrested.
The operations against al Qaeda in the San'a area and a southern province came as Yemen is under US pressure to act more vigorously against the terror network on its territory. An impoverished nation in the Arabian Peninsula's south-western corner, Yemen has struggled in its efforts to deal with al Qaeda's growing presence as well as its home-grown Islamic extremism.
Provincial security official Saleh el-Shamsy said airstrikes early Thursday followed by a ground operation targeting a training camp in the southern Abyan province killed up to 30 suspected militants. A security official and witnesses, meanwhile, said civilians were caught up in the government offensive in Abyan, with several homes destroyed in the airstrikes and others stormed by troops who mistook them for al Qaeda hideouts.
Separately, the Interior Ministry said operations were carried out in areas outside San'a, killing four would-be suicide bombers and arresting 17 suspected militants. The suicide bombers were in the Arhab district north-east of the capital.
Those arrested included another four would-be suicide bombers, one of whom was wounded in the fighting. "These individuals (suicide bombers) planned to strike at schools as well as interests at home and abroad," the ministry statement said. It did not identify the targets or the foreign countries where they allegedly planned to strike.
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