Yemeni troops killed three jihadist fighters Sunday during a ground assault, AFP reports.
“Yemen’s anti-terrorism forces carried out a military operation in Arhab killing three al Qaeda militants and arresting four others,” a security official said.
Officials say the militants had previously fought in Syria and returned to Yemen recently to fight alongside al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), according to AFP.
AQAP is considered to be the most deadly branch of al Qaeda by many Western analysts. The United States has increased drone strikes in recent months in an effort to kill al Qaeda militants residing in Yemen.
