A senior Yemeni official says government troops have killed 12 militants and retaken control of a southern town after several days of fighting with rebels. Deputy Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Saleh Hussein Al-Zaweri says the Yemeni army began its assault on the town of Loder after 11 soldiers were killed in an ambush on Friday. Al-Zaweri said Wednesday the militants killed in the fighting were members of Al-Qaeda. However, earlier reports about the violence in Loder, 155 miles southeast of Sana'a, indicated the clashes were between the military and townspeople. The reports could not be independently verified. “Security authorities have done their job efficiently and professionally,” Al-Zaweri said. He said that security forces have “stormed the dens of the terrorists” in Loder, in the province of Abyan, and were “chasing the runaway elements.” “Security forces have taught the terrorists of Al-Qaeda a hard lesson and inflicted painful hits on them, forcing those terrorist elements that tried to hide, to flee after dozens were killed and wounded,” he added.
