Sanaa, May 8 (IANS): Yemeni armed forces Thursday dislodged Al Qaeda militants from their last bastion in the country's southeastern region, the defence ministry said.
"The armed and security forces backed by fighters have entered the centre of the district of Azzan in southeastern Shabwa province," the defence ministry announced.
A high ranking army commander confirmed to Xinhua that engineers cleared landmines and explosives in Azzan, as forces continued to sweep the mountainous terrain in Shabwa and surrounding areas.
"Government authorities are implementing security plans to ensure that Al Qaeda militants fleeing Abyan and Shabwa are unable to relocate to the neighbouring province of Hadramout," an army source said.
The Yemeni Military Command Wednesday denied the government was negotiating with local tribes to end confrontations with Al Qaeda militants.
The Yemeni army Tuesday declared that it has fully recaptured a key Al Qaeda stronghold in the neighbouring southern province of Abyan after a two-week offensive against the militants.
Bodies of suspected foreign fighters from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Somalia, Russia and other nations have also been discovered among the dead, the authorities said.
Numerous hideouts for the manufacture of explosives, including car bombs and suicide vests, have been discovered while vehicles, ammunition and weapons suspected to belong to the militants have been seized or destroyed.