The authorities have arrested two Al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen’s port city of Aden where several militants were arrested in the past few weeks in connections with deadly attacks and clashes with the security forces, the defense ministry reported on Thursday.
The two suspects were arrested in Al-Tuwahi city while planning to attack security targets coinciding with the arrest of a third militant in Abyan province, it said.
The third suspect was captured in Jaar city and the police found at his home explosives including belts, it added.
In the west, media reports said the police at the Hodeida airport arrested a three-member group on suspicion of having links to Al-Qaeda. One of the arrested was a Syrian and believed to be the leader of the group which came from Sanaa, the reports said, adding that the suspects were returned to the capital Sanaa for investigation.
Separately, three Al-Qaeda militants were killed late on Wednesday in an airstrike in Hadramout province, the defense ministry said.
The militants were wanted and were targeted while meeting their fellows in the Khashamir area in the Qatan district. The strike destroyed their car and weapons, it added.
Yemen is continuing a massive hunt for Al-Qaeda operatives after the army drove militants out of their strongholds in Abyan and Shabwa in the past few months. Tens of militants and cells have been arrested in recent weeks after Al-Qaeda stepped up its deadly attacks in main cities including Sanaa in retaliation for its defeat in the south.