Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch has retreated from an oil-rich southern province in the face of an assault by a US-backed elite Government force, a senior military official said on Monday.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, 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 the elite force, trained by the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday launched a “major operation” against the jehadis in Shabwa province.