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Summary Yemeni government forces killed at least 16 militants in the troubled south.
In one attack, Yemeni warplanes struck an al-Qaida hideout about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the southern city of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan. The bombardment killed at least 10 militants, the officials said.The army also fired missiles at a moving vehicle on the outskirts of another southern town, Lawder, killing six militants inside it, they said. The town was controlled by al-Qaida last year until its residents drove out the militants, who have since been trying to stage a comeback. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.Mondays raids came a day after government bombings of al-Qaida positions across the south killed at least 30 militants.The attacks are part of the Yemeni militarys broader campaign against al-Qaida-linked fighters. The militants have seized towns and territory across southern Yemen over the past year, taking advantage of a security vacuum linked to the countrys political turmoil that pushed longtime authoritarian leader Ali Abdullah Saleh from power.The front lines are concentrated around Zinjibar and another Abyan town, Jaar, where al-Qaida has held sway since March 2011. If the military were to reclaim the two strongholds, it would deal a severe blow to the militants, leaving them scattered in remote mountain areas away from urban centers.
