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Officials: After deadly clashes, Yemeni army pushes al-Qaida militants out of southern town
Published May 21, 2015
Yemeni military officials say al-Qaida militants staged an intense assault on a southern town and overran it for several hours before a counter-attack by the army pushed them out.
The officials say Monday's fighting over the town of Mahfad in Abyan province, a former al-Qaida stronghold, lasted for eight hours.
They say the militants took control of the town council building and several army checkpoints and moved in on a key army base. The clashes killed four Yemeni soldiers and seven al-Qaida militants.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Yemen's al-Qaida branch has taken advantage of a deep political crisis roiling the country amid a Shiite rebel power grab, which has plunged it close to full-blown civil war.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/officials-after-deadly-clashes-yemeni-army-pushes-al-qaida-militants-out-of-southern-town