WorldADEN, AFP -Air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition have forced Al-Qaeda fighters out of a key town in southern Yemen, a security official said on Tuesday. Their withdrawal from Azzan followed a series of coalition air raids against their positions in the town, security officials and residents said. Saudi Arabia's coalition backs the Yemeni government against Huthi Shiite rebels supported by Iran, and late Monday resumed air strikes around the insurgent-held capital for the first time in three months. Those strikes, which intensified Tuesday, come less than 72 hours after the suspension of UN-brokered talks in Kuwait between Yemen's warring parties. Azzan lies on the highway between Shabwa's provincial capital Ataq and Mukalla, capital of the vast desert province of Hadramawt.

Source: Sunday Times August 09, 2016 11:26 UTC