Hundreds of Yemeni troops backed by tanks and helicopters on Tuesday launched an operation in this mountainous region in south Yemen to net a group of fugitive Islamist extremists. The sweep unfolding in Jabal Hatat, 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of the port city of Aden, was being led by Defence Minister General Abdullah Ali Eleiwah himself, a correspondent reported. The assault is aimed at netting a group of around 80 extremists accused of having launched Saturday's attack on an army medical convoy that left seven wounded, a military official told journalists at the scene. The extremists hidden out in the rugged and largely inaccessible region comprises elements from the Islamic Jihad group and the Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan, as well as sympathisers with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
| That's where they keep the Bad Guys. Sounds like they're cheesed enough to go after them seriously... |
The deployed military detachment, made up of hundreds of soldiers, is backed up by dozens of tanks, artillery, heavy machine-guns and helicopters. Three members of the group, acting as look-outs for the advance of the government's troops, have been arrested. Tribal elders in the region had begun mediation efforts to convince the group to surrender and thus avoid a bloodbath, witnesses said.
| And no doubt to try and talk the army into leaving them alone — to avoid a bloodbath, of course... |
The wounded in Saturday's ambush of the army medical convoy included a doctor, five paramedics and a driver, the interior ministry said. The local Abyan province council issued a statement saying the members of the armed group were "recidivist extremist elements."
| "Recidivist"? They do this sort of thing regularly, huh? |
Yemeni authorities have boosted security around Sanaa and other main cities in recent days for fear of attacks by militant groups. |