Al-Qaeda ousted from oil-rich Yemen province

Al-Qaeda fighters have retreated from an oil-rich southern province of war-ravaged Yemen in the face of an assault by an elite US-backed government force, a military official says.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), seen by the United States as the global network’s most dangerous franchise, has exploited Yemen’s war to expand its presence in the country’s south. But special forces, trained by the United Arab Emirates and backed by the United States, on Wednesday launched a “major operation” against the jihadists in Shabwa province.

The group staged a “tactical retreat” from the province with no major clashes, the senior military official said, requesting anonymity, as he was not authorized to talk to the press. The jihadists appear to have moved even further south into neighboring Abyan province.

Residents of an Abyan town near the Shabwa border said they counted at least 45 cars carrying armed AQAP militants through their district.

The province is home to several oil and gas fields, as well as Yemen’s only gas terminal Belhaf, which was operated by French group Total, until the company withdrew in 2015.

— AFP