Yemeni soldiers pose with their weapons during an assault on the town of Jaar The Yemeni army has retaken the southern rebel-held town of Jaar from al-Qaeda-linked militants after heavy fighting that killed at least 24 people, Yemen\'s defence ministry and residents said on Tuesday. The capture of Jaar is considered a major victory for the US-backed Yemeni army offensive launched last month to recapture several towns seized by Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) during political turmoil in Yemen last year.
The defence ministry said the army, backed by local fighters from popular committees set up during last year\'s uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule, entered the city on Tuesday after heavy fighting that killed at least 20 militants and four Yemeni soldiers.
An Ansar al-Sharia spokesman said the army had taken control of the town of more than 100,000 people and said a statement would be issued later, Reuters reported.
Residents said the militants fled under cover of darkness, leaving behind flyers asking inhabitants to forgive them and asserting that they did not want to “cause any harm to Jaar and its inhabitants”.
Armoured vehicles moved into the centre of Jaar hours after al-Qaeda militants withdrew towards the nearby town of Shuqra, when “fighting with the army became fiercer,” one resident told AFP.
Yemeni forces launched an offensive on May 12 aimed at reclaiming towns and cities lost to al-Qaeda over the past year, including Abyan’s capital Zinjibar.
Since the offensive began, 485 people have been killed, according to an AFP tally combined from different sources. This includes 368 al-Qaeda militants, 72 soldiers, 26 local armed men and 19 civilians.