Sana'a: A senior Yemeni official said that government troops have killed 12 militants and retaken control of a southern town after several days of fighting with rebels.
Deputy Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Saleh Hussain Al Zouari said the Yemeni army began its assault on the town of Lawder after 11 soldiers were killed in an ambush on Friday.
Al Zouari said on Wednesday that the militants killed in the fighting were members of Al Qaida.
However, earlier reports about the violence in Lawdar, 250 kilometres southeast of Sana'a, indicated the clashes were between the military and townspeople.
The reports could not be independently verified.
South Yemen was once a separate country and simmering tensions there have compounded Yemen's troubles as it struggles with a resurgent Al Qaida movement.
