US plane kills 11 militants in Abyan

Local sources in Abyan, southern Yemen say that 11 militants from Ansar al-Sharia,  an al-Qaeda offshoot, have been killed in an air raid Friday by a US drone. The sources described to Arabstoday that the plane targeted a building housing the militants. According to the same sources, among those killed were militants of different Arab nationalities, without being specific as to their origin. In a statement published on the ministry's website, the Yemeni Minister of Defence,  Mohamed Nasser Ahmed  claimed that more than 21 terrorists were killed in addition to  dozens injured, while the rest fled. leaving behind weapons, ammunition and equipment. The statement went on to say that the minister had commended the victories achieved by Armoured Brigade 201, Infantry Brigade 135, as well as the people’s committees "during fierce confrontations carried out Thursday against the remnants of the terrorists". The minister, who is visiting the area, said that the army inflicted heavy loss of lives and equipment and that it is now imposing a tight siege around the remnants of these al-Qaeda groups. In a separate development in Abyan province,  a Yemeni hardline Islamic group belonging to al-Qaeda, announced Friday that it has released 27 soldiers who were arrested last month. It stated, that they were released after they had sworn to leave the 'army of the government supported by the US'. The Ansar al-Sharia group, said in a statement that it had arrested those soldiers in the province of Abyan, southern Yemen. The Yemeni army is fighting groups belonging to al-Qaeda that have taken control over areas in central and southern Yemen, during the uprising which broke out last year against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who finally stepped down in February.