Yemeni forces crack down on al-Qaeda in Lahj, Abyan

Yemen's security belt forces on Wednesday (September 27th) killed al-Qaeda leader Ahmad Abdul Nabi in Lahj's Yafaa directorate in an exchange of fire, local media reported Thursday.

Security forces raided a house in Yafaa where al-Qaeda elements reside, and killed Abdul Nabi and arrested two others, reports said.

The crackdown on al-Qaeda in Lahj was launched as part of the security plan set in place after Prime Minister Ahmad Obaid bin Dagher's September 9th visit to the province, said Awad al-Salahi, secretary-general of Lahj's local council.

The provincial security committee approved a plan in early September to combat al-Qaeda elements and other outlaws who seek to undermine stability in the province, he told Al-Mashareq.

The security crackdown will continue until the province is fully secured, he said.

On Thursday, the commander of the security belt forces in Yafaa, Abdul Razzaq al-Jaradmi, said that security forces "will continue to hunt down al-Qaeda elements in Yafaa, wherever they are".

"We are here to cleanse our areas of terrorism and will not tolerate any terrorist element," he said in a statement. "We will strike with an iron fist against anyone who tries to harm the security of the homeland and the citizen."

Meanwhile in Abyan, the security campaign currently under way in the province, has netted al-Qaeda's explosives and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) expert.

Rapid response forces on Wednesday raided the house of al-Qaeda element al-Khedhr Ahmed Hussein, also known as al-Darmali, in the town of al-Ayn, and arrested him.

Al-Darmali, a wanted al-Qaeda leader in al-Ayn, is an expert on IEDs and blowing them up remotely, local media reported.