Nov. 25 (UPI) -- On Monday, Yemen's Ministry of Interior announced a successful airstrike in southern Yemen that killed 12 unidentified al-Qaida members.
Yemen's Ministry of Interior confirms an airstrike in Horah Mahfad #Abyan which destroyed a vehicle and killed 12 suspected #AQAP militants
— Mohammed Albasha (@Yemen411) November 25, 2013Mohammed Albasha, Press and Public Relations officer at the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Washington, DC posted the announcement on Twitter earlier today.
In an exclusive interview just days earlier with Asharq al-Awsat, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi discussed his country's struggles and progress in reducing al-Qaida's presence. "It’s a constant battle to root them out, and it is a huge challenge," he acknowledged.
Hadi added that there was a "reduction in Al-Qaeda activity in Yemen compared with 2011 and 2012... thanks to the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. We launched a large security operation against them and succeeded in clearing them out and ridding Abyan of their supporters. They then fled to launch isolated attacks against Yemen from time to time."
Hadi also noted the cause and effect of progress in ridding Yemen of al-Qaeda, noting "As a result of the operation against Al-Qaeda, its members began to flee to other areas suffering upheaval such as Syria, Egypt, Libya and North Africa generally, among other places."
[Asharq al-Awsat]
