ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's newly-recruited southern forces announced on Tuesday the launch of a major anti-terror operation across the country's turbulent province of Abyan to combat terror groups.

Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is part of the Yemeni government, has deployed a number of troops to Abyan for the military operation code-named "ARROWS OF THE EAST", said a brief press statement by the STC's Aden-based forces.

The operation will target Abyan's all areas plagued by insecurity and used by terror organizations such as the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, it added.

A Yemeni military official confirmed to Xinhua that the STC's troops were heavily deployed across the Arabian Sea coastal town of Shuqrah and began sporadic armed confrontations with the militants elsewhere in Abyan.

"The ongoing operation seeks to fight terror groups, secure the roads linking the southern provinces, stop the smuggling of weapons across the coastal strip in Abyan and enhance the security of Aden where the Yemeni government and Presidential Leadership Council are based," he said on condition of anonymity.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against the security forces in the country's southern provinces.

The AQAP has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi militia to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)