ZINJIBAR, Yemen, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Military officials said 230 soldiers and 30 al-Qaida members were killed during three months of battles to drive the militants out of two Yemeni cities.
Six-hundred soldiers were injured, the officials said.
Minister of Defense Mohammed Nasser Ahmed said Sunday the Yemeni military forced al-Qaida fighters out of Zinjibar and Ja'ar Saturday, the Yemen Observer reported.
Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansor Hadi, briefing European Union ambassadors in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa Sunday, said the al-Qaida victims were high-profile members of the organization.
Minister of State Ahmed Al Kuhlani said in a statement the 180,000 people from Zinjibar and Ja'ar and surrounding areas displaced by the three months of battles will be able to return home soon, the Yemen Observer reported.
