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Yemeni police forces arrest IS-linked terrorists in Aden

Xinhua, December 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Yemeni police forces arrested eight terrorists linked to the Islamic State (IS) group, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by Aden Police.

Anti-terrorism soldiers conducted an overnight operation, busting the terrorist cell responsible for a series of drive-by assassinations and attacks in the port city of Aden, and storming several locations in the province of Aden.

Silent pistols, letters, and various jihadist leaflets sent to the terrorist militants from IS leaders in Iraq and Syria were seized from the raided houses, the police statement said.

The southern port city of Aden is the headquarters of Yemen's internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government.

Aden witnessed several well-planned assassinations and armed attacks after Saudi-backed forces drove the Shiite Houthi rebels out from the strategic city in July 2015.

However, the newly-trained anti-terrorism troops supported by UAE armored vehicles made substantial achievements in recent weeks, disabling several explosive material factories used by terrorists to manufacture car bombs in Aden.

In addition, several commanders of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were captured in the successful raids conducted by the UAE-backed Yemeni forces in Aden and neighboring 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, claiming responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and governmental institutions.

The AQAP and the IS-linked terrorists took advantage of the security vacuum and ongoing civil war to expand their influence and seize more territories in southern Yemen.

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

Over 10,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, many of them civilians. Endit