Air strikes leave 15 al-Qaida militants killed in Yemen's Aden

About 15 militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed in overnight Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen's temporary capital of Aden, a military official told Xinhua on Sunday.

The air strikes pounded al-Qaida-controlled positions and vehicles in district of Mansourah in Aden province, leaving 15 extremists killed, the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

An intelligence officer said that "Four overnight air strikes were launched by Saudi-led warplanes and U.S. drones successfully destroyed arms depots and killed senior terrorists in Mansourah."

Aden's Governor Maj. Gen. Aidarous Zubaidi issued an official statement saying that "pro-government forces supported by Saudi-led coalition carried out the second phase to implement the security plan and raided al-Qaida terror cells in Mansourah."

"The anti-terror military campaign will continue till eliminating all extremist militias in Mansourah and restoring stability in neighboring areas," Aden's governor said.

Local residents said that fighting intensified on Sunday morning and Saudi-led helicopters kept hovering over Aden's airspace.

The port city of Aden has been witnessing a state of chaos and lawlessness during the past weeks resulted in the assassination of Aden's former governor, several high-ranking security officers and judges.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of the Islamic State.

The security situation in the country has deteriorated since March last year when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Endit