Yemen clashes kill 40 al-Qaida militants in south

[June 15, 2012]  SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- Yemen says government troops have killed 40 militants in a push to rout al-Qaida fighters from the last town under militant control in the southern Abyan province.

A Defense Ministry statement says the militants died overnight and early Friday in fighting between the provincial capital of Zinjibar and Shoqra to the east.

The offensive on Shoqra comes just days after Yemeni forces regained control of Zinjibar and the town of Jaar, which have been under al-Qaida's control for more than a year.

A military official says that during the Shoqra fighting, an airstrike hit a home and killed four members of the same family late on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

[Associated Press; By AHMED AL-HAJ]

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