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| Arabia | |
| Yemeni army tightens hold on southern city | |
| 2011-09-12 | |
| ADEN/SANAA - Yemeni troops killed four Islamist militants on Sunday as the army consolidated its grip on Zinjibar, a day after recapturing the southern city from a group calling itself Ansar Al Sharia, a military spokesman said. Residents said a Yemeni air strike killed at least three fighters near the militant-held town of Jaar, apparently as they were fleeing towards it from Zinjibar. Ansar Al Sharia, which the government says is linked to the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), seized Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, in May, cutting off an army brigade in a nearby barracks. The army said on Saturday it had retaken the coastal city and linked up with the stranded 25th brigade after a two-month offensive backed by air strikes and heavy weaponry. Zinjibar, lying east of a shipping strait through which some 3 million barrels of oil pass daily, has been devastated by fighting and air strikes, the military spokesman said. Tens of thousands of Zinjibar residents fled to Aden after their city became a battle zone and the government lost control.
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| Posted by:Steve White |