A Yemeni military jet struck three trucks packed with weapons in a restive southern region today, killing eight people including suspected al-Qaida militants, military and local officials said.
The trucks were moving arms and ammunition, including artillery equipment, from Shabwa to Marib governorate, where al-Qaida militants have been retreating after the military drove them from nearby strongholds, military officials said. Three of those killed are the drivers of the trucks, while the rest are thought to be al-Qaida fighters, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
The strike comes amid an ongoing offensive by the army in southern cities and towns, which has led to the killing and capture of dozens of al-Qaida suspects.
The ministry said that dozens of suspected militants have been killed or captured over the past three weeks, as troops and allied tribal fighters seized a string of al-Qaida-held areas along a 60-mile (100-kilometer) stretch of highway snaking through the rugged desert mountains of the south, starting from the Mahfad region.
The US embassy in Sanaa shut down its premises last week as a precaution against possible retaliatory attacks.
Washington considers Yemen's al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula the most active branch of the group in the world, and has assisted the government with logistics, training and drone attacks. The militants have fought back, targeting government buildings and security forces.
Security officials said today that a German citizen kidnapped in the capital Sanaa since February has been released following tribal mediation. The officials said the man was set free by the tribe holding him after their demand to release a member of the tribe held by the government was met.
The officials said the German was on his way to Sanaa from Marib province accompanied by security and tribal leaders. They too spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Abductions are frequent in Yemen, an impoverished nation where armed tribesmen and al-Qaeda-linked militants take hostages in an effort to swap them for prisoners or cash.
