20 soldiers killed as Yemeni army pushes al-Qaeda from southern city

Published March 21st, 2015 - 10:17 GMT
The clashes come just days after unidentified war planes bombed the Aden palace in which President Hadi has been operating from since fleeing house arrest in Sanaa. (AFP/File)
The clashes come just days after unidentified war planes bombed the Aden palace in which President Hadi has been operating from since fleeing house arrest in Sanaa. (AFP/File)

After killing 20 soldiers during an assault on the capital city in a southern Yemeni province Friday, al-Qaeda militants were driven out by the army, local officials and residents told Reuters.  

The clashes came on the heels of a deadly string of suicide bombs in the Yemen's capital Sanaa that killed 142 people in two separate mosque attacks and was later claimed by Daesh militants.

Widely regarded as the extremist group's most dangerous wing, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula (AQAP) attempted a takeover of the city of al-Houta, but were forced to withdraw late Friday after holding control of the city for several hours. Officials and residents did not cite any AQAP casualties. 

The southern city is located only 30 kilimeters outside the port city of Aden, where Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled to and set up temporary government operations after being placed under house arrest in Sanaa by the Shia-based militant group, the Houthis.

Tensions have run high since the Houthis initial push into Sanaa last September. By February, the militants had dismantled the gulf country's teetering parliament and detained Hadi. The last two days have seen bombing attempts on the Aden palace Hadi is working from by unidentified warplanes, further pushing the restive country toward full-blown civil war, and creating a larger window for AQAP to operate. 

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