ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior leader of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was killed in a raid in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa on Friday, a security official told Xinhua.
Acting on tip-offs from citizens and intelligence officers, the Elite Yemeni Forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) raided a hideout of the al-Qaida group in Khawrah area of Shabwa and seized the place after confrontation with the terrorists, local security source said on condition of anonymity.
The AQAP commander named as Nayif Tarmum was killed after refusing to surrender himself to the troops, according to the source.
A government official based in Shabwa confirmed to Xinhua that the UAE-backed forces seized explosive materials, several booby traps to be used in roadside bombs, hand grenades, dozens of electronic detonators, and other explosive devices found in the area.
Local medical sources said that 10 soldiers of the UAE-backed Yemeni troops were injured in the operation.
Elsewhere in Yemen, two newly-recruited soldiers were killed in southern Abyan province.
"Suspected al-Qaida gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Abyan's area of Lawder, killing two soldiers and kidnapping two others after the attack," an army officer said.
The AQAP network, active mainly in eastern and southern provinces, is responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.
Since the U.S. President Donald Trump approved the expanded military operations against the group, the U.S. military has carried out several airstrikes against AQAP fighters in different provinces of the war-torn Arab country, including intensified overnight airstrikes and ground military raids against the al-Qaida hideouts in the mountainous areas of al-Bayda and southeastern province of Shabwa.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has been exploiting prolonged deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in the south.
