Successful offensive launched against terrorists in Hadramout

A successful military operation has been launched against al-Qaeda militant groups in Shahr and Ghail Bawazir districts, eastern Mukalla city of Hadramout governorate, a military official said Wednesday. Joint military and security troops have managed to assault harshly the terrorist dens, killing seven of al-Qaeda operative leaders and militants and wounding many others, he said. One military officer Ghalib al-Mansoub was killed and five soldiers were injured in the operation, he added. The troops also destroyed weapons stores and seized a number of explosives, vehicles and motorcycles that are used by al-Qaida militants in assassination operations, the official added. He accentuated that the troops are continuing to pursue the rest of the terrorists and comb the farmlands and areas they have fled to, stressing that the civilians have been instructed not to approach or exist in the places, in where the militants are. He valued the citizens' cooperation, calling people who had any information concerning the whereabouts of the terrorists to contact security and military services to help speed up the arrest of the rest of the militants and restore security and stability to Shahr and Ghail Bawazir.