1st LD: Yemeni forces kill major al-Qaida leader

Yemeni army troops killed a prominent al-Qaida leader southern province of Abyan on Monday, a security official told Xinhua.

The leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, identified as Abdullah Hubaibat, was killed when government troops raided a number of houses held by al-Qaida militants in Loder, a town in Abyan province, the security official said on condition of anonymity.

Five others were also wounded in raids.

Hubaibat was believed to have been involved in previous armed attacks against security forces in Abyan, according to the source.

In the last two months, Yemeni government forces launched anti-terror offensives and drove out scores of gunmen linked to the al-Qaida and the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State from key neighborhoods and government compounds in Lahj and Abyan provinces.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009 and claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and government institutions.

The AQAP took advantage of the current security vacuum and ongoing civil war to expand its influence and seize more territories in the south of Yemen.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group which is supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and government forces which are backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Over 6,400 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, many of them civilians. Endit