(JUNE 4-10)

According to the military sources, at least 11 al Qaeda militants and one soldier were killed in a fighting between them in Jaar and Zinjibar, in the Abyan province in south Yemen on June 10, 2012. Two more soldiers were also injured in ongoing battles as the army has been fighting al Qaeda militants to retake key towns in Abyan including the capital Zinjibar, which were seized in mid-2011. Sources have also informed that the militants were killed in artillery shelling and airstrikes targeting by the security forces on the militant positions and fighters in the two towns. Meanwhile, military reinforcements have deployed to Abyan to back the forces and tribal fighters to clear the militants from Abyan. 1

According to reports, a car bomb exploded on June 6, 2012 killing three al Qaeda militants on a road linking between Lahj and Aden. According to the security sources, the car was blown off before the reach of its target which was, suspected to have been plotted by the militants to blow up a security checkpoint in Al-Ribat area of Lahj. Meanwhile, 10 Al-Qaeda militants and four soldiers including an officer were killed on June 6, 2012 in Zinjibar of Abyan governorate. In another incident in the same province, five al Qaeda militants were killed on June 5, 2012 when a car bomb hit the port town of Shaqra. 2

• 1. “11 Militants in Fiercest Battles to Retake Key Areas in Yemen”, Yemen Post, June 11, 2012 at http://www.yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=5532&MainCat=3
• 2. “Nearly 13 militants, four soldiers killed in Lahj, Abyan”, Yemen Post, June 6, 2012, at http://www.yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=100&SubID=5517&MainCat=3