Yemeni warplane bombs al-Qaeda strongholds, 3 killed

A warplane of the Yemeni air force pounded Friday evening strongholds of the al-Qaeda militants, killing at least three terrorists and injuring two others in the southeastern province of Shabwa, local residents and security officials said. An al-Qaida fortification and a checkpoint located in a road linking Azan and Rawda towns were pounded in the air strike, leaving at least three militants killed and two others injured, the provincial security official, told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Two armored vehicles of the al-Qaeda militants were completely destroyed in the air strike, he said. Shabwa, some 458 km southeast of the capital Sanaa, is considered to be another stronghold of hundreds of al-Qaida militants. Military aircraft were still hovering over the region, according to local residents. Although U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, one of AQAP's prominent leaders in Yemen, was killed in a U.S. drone strike late September, analysts and experts on Islamic militant groups believe al-Qaeda's influence in the country will not be significantly affected. Militants of the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are apparently taking advantage of the country's nearly nine months of political crisis in expanding their presence in the lawless southern and eastern parts of the country.