Fighting in Yemen's south kills 50 militants

Yemeni artillery and military aircraft backing pro-government tribesmen pounded Al Qaida fighters trying to battle their way into a strategic town in the country's south on Wednesday, while a suspected U.S. airstrike killed at least 12 militants, officials said.

The fighting near the town of Lawder started over the weekend when Al Qaida attacked an army post, sparking resistance from Yemeni troops and from armed tribesmen.

The military claims that at least 165 militants have been killed in the past three days, including 38 on Wednesday, as Al Qaida continues a costly but determined assault aimed at expanding a swath of the south under their control. The officials said six civilians fighting alongside the army was also killed.

Another 12 militants were killed when a vehicle stolen by Al Qaida from an army post in recent days was hit by an airstrike. Residents said the vehicle took a direct hit, leaving it totally destroyed with bodies strewn nearby. They and the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement those killed on Wednesday included two senior members of the militant network in the area. It identified them as Imad Al Manshaby and Ahmed Mohammed Taher. Other security officials said the dead also included Saudis, Somalis and a Pakistani. They did not specify how many were foreigners.

In some cities like Lawder, the army has received critical help from residents who have become fed up with the government's inability to protect them and, in a country where most adult males possess weapons, have taken up arms to protect themselves.

There are an estimated 300 mostly young men armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades who have joined the government side in the fight. But they are running low on ammunition and food supplies, according to one of their leaders, Jihad Hafeez. Many of the town's residents have left the city to escape the fighting, he said.
Military officials say that Al Qaida appears determined to take the town despite the losses it has suffered. It lies on a key highway that links Abyan province's capital Zinjibar, an al-Qaida stronghold, with other provinces further east like Hadramawt, Bayda and Shabwa where the group is also active.

Al-Qaida was once present in Lawder, but in July residents drove them out. The militants have since been trying to regain their foothold in the town, which has a population of about 30,000.

Al-Qaida have become the de facto government in the towns they control, and in some places appear to be implementing a harsh version of Islamic law. In the town of Rada in Bayda province, militants beheaded a woman on allegations that she practiced witchcraft, two security officials said on Wednesday. The head of the 35-year old woman was later hanging on a door in the city as a warning but her body remains missing, the officials said.

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