Loyalist Forces in Yemen Retake the City of Jaar from Al-Qaeda

Forces loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the President of Yemen, successfully retook the city of Jaar, which had been captured by Al-Qaeda forces on Wednesday. On Thursday, December 3, the German news agency reported, citing a regional official whose identity was not disclosed, that Hadi's loyalist forces and Yemeni militants launched an assault on the city of Jaar in Abyan province and, after exchanging fire with Al-Qaeda forces, completely drove them out of the city. According to the official, the Yemeni government-aligned forces are also planning to advance towards the city of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, which also fell to Al-Qaeda on Wednesday. Al-Qaeda has been able to expand its presence in Yemen by taking advantage of the civil war, which pits the Shia Houthi rebels against Hadi's loyalists, having controlled the city of Mukalla, one of the most important southern cities in Yemen, for several months. The report also states that Al-Qaeda is active in the key city of Aden, where Hadi's government is currently based. Al-Qaeda militants launched a surprise attack on Wednesday, quickly capturing the cities of Jaar and Zinjibar. According to residents of these two cities, it was after the morning prayer that the Ansar al-Sharia militants, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, announced the fall of Jaar and Zinjibar using loudspeakers. A Reuters report indicates that during Al-Qaeda's attack on Jaar and Zinjibar, seven city guards and five Al-Qaeda militants were killed, but it is unclear how many casualties the liberation operation of these cities incurred. Jaar and Zinjibar are located about 50 kilometers east of Aden, where Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is currently based. These two cities were also under the control of Islamist militants for a year in 2011.