Yemen targets suspected al-Qaeda arms convoy
Military jet strikes a convoy of three trucks, suspected of moving weapons and ammunition in restive southern region.
Yemen’s air force has killed eight people, including suspected al-Qaeda fighters, in the latest round of a wide-scale assault on the group’s strongholds.
A military jet targeted a convoy of three trucks in a restive southern region on Tuesday, suspected of transporting arms and ammunition, including artillery equipment, from Shabwa to Marib governorate.
“A three-truck convoy belonging to al-Qaeda was targeted by the Yemeni air force in Bayhan, a road linking Shabwa and Marib” provinces, an official said.
Three of those killed were truck drivers, while the rest were thought to be al-Qaeda fighters, they said.
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-Qaeda suspects.
Troops and allied tribal fighters have seized a string of al-Qaeda-held areas along a 100km stretch of highway snaking through the rugged desert mountains of the south, starting from the Mahfad region.
The campaign, which is backed by the US, is part of a rolling operation against the group in the country.