Dubai: Yemen’s army in the southern city of Aden launched a campaign targeting suspected secret arms stores belonging to Al Qaida and Daesh in the city’s Breqa district also known as Little Aden, a day after police found a big arms depot in a villa in the same area, residents and officials said.
In the early hours of Saturday, witnesses reported seeing a long convoy of armed vehicles crossing into Breqa while helicopter from a Saudi-led coalition was hovering over the area. A security official told Gulf News the campaign raided many properties suspected of housing arms and explosive materials. “The army combed the area looking for arms that the militants stored after the end of war with Al Houthis in Aden,” the official said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Officials say that the tip off on Friday’s arms depot came from a suspected militant who attacked an important pipeline linking Aden refinery and an oil terminal in the same district on Friday morning. Alerted police clashed with the attackers and chased them in the streets of Aden and captured one of them which led to a big arms depot. “[On Friday] We found landmines, car bombs, SIM cards, mortar shells, ammunition, and mobiles used for remotely detonating bombs.” the official said.
The strategic port city of Aden has witnessed a string of assassinations targeting security officers and other attacks on government facilities since July when government forces and the coalition pushed Al Houthis out of the city.
The Saudi-led coalition, mainly the UAE, funded a long programme to reconstruct the battered security bodies in the city. Hundreds of army troops and policemen have been trained inside and outside Yemen and are now guarding key government institutes.
Despite security challenges, Yemen president has made Aden the temporary capital of Yemen as his forces backed the coalition are fighting to drive Al Houthis out of Sana’a.
