SANAA, Yemen, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A top al-Qaida commander was killed in fighting between militants and government forces in southern Yemen, authorities said Tuesday.
Government forces cracked down on al-Qaida militants during the weekend after insurgents refused to surrender to authorities in Abyan province.
Security forces surrounded fighters with al-Qaida who were holed up in the city of Lawdar. Seven insurgents were killed after al-Qaida fighters rejected an ultimatum to surrender.
Authorities claimed they killed 27-year-old Adel Saleh Hardaba in Lawdar, who was described by authorities as the second-in-command of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Jazeera reports.
Nearly a dozen Yemeni soldiers and at least 19 militants were killed in fighting that erupted during the weekend. UPI
