Al Mukalla: Elite Yemeni counter-terrorism forces captured a leading Daesh operative after a raid on his hideout in the port city of Aden, the city’s police said in a statement. The captured figure, identified by initials as F.A.S, orchestrated several drive-by shootings against security personnel and a deadly suicide attack on counter-terrorism forces in Aden.
Police said the forces stormed a house in Enma district in Aden on Wednesday after receiving information that a leading militant who plotted attacks in Aden was hiding there. A stash of arms, explosive belts, IEDs and other explosive materials were found at the house.
During investigations, the man admitted to assassinating two security officers and co-plotting a terrorist attack on Aden counter-terrorism base that claimed that lives of at least 16 soldiers and civilians last month. The man also revealed information about future attacks against security forces and the Saudi-led coalition-managed facilities in Aden.
In the statement, Aden police described the capture of the figure as an important step towards completely defeating Daesh and Al Qaida in the city.
Security authorities in Aden have recently announced the arrests of a handful of Al Qaida and Daesh operatives blamed for a string of assassinations and deadly attacks against government and security targets in Aden. Thousands of security forces, trained and armed by the UAE military in Yemen, have managed to restore peace to Aden, Yemen’s second larges city and the base of the internationally-recognised government, after expelling armed groups from the city. Security officers believe successful raids on suspected militant hideouts would put an end to the assassinations. Al Qaida in Yemen, also known as Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and Daesh, have suffered fatal blows in southern Yemen in recent years when UAE-backed forces pushed them from their major urban strongholds, including Al Mukalla, Yemen’s fifth largest city.
Meanwhile, in the northern province of Saada, Al Houthis’ main bastion, Yemen’s Defence Ministry said heavy fighting broke out on Wednesday between government forces and the militia on Bouqa front amid heavy air strikes by Saudi-led coalition fighter jets. In a statement on its official news site, the ministry said government forces pushed back Al Houthis’ offensive along a chain of rugged mountains called Mahjouba in Saada. The coalition’s fighter jets struck Al Houthis’ military supplies en route to the battlefield.
Saudi-led coalition military intervention in Yemen is credited with shoring up the Yemeni government that was on the verge of collapse three years ago amid Al Houthis’ rapid military expansion. Loyalists are in control of almost 80 per cent of Yemeni territory.
