Elite security forces in Yemen backed by the Arab coalition on Friday liberated one of the largest strongholds of the Al Qaeda militant group in the war-ravaged country, according to the unit’s commander, as the military announced a new operation named “Black Mountains” to deal further heavy blows to the group.
Soldiers recaptured the area of Rafadh Al Rays, which is located in the Azzan area that sits in the southeast of Shabwa province, Colonel Mohammed Salem Al Buhar, commander of the elite forces in Shabwa, confirmed to The National.
The operation included two strikes conducted by the Arab Coalition air forces that killed several Al-Qaeda militants, and the arrest of two Al-Qaeda militants in the “fierce confrontations”, Mr Al Buhar said.
"Our forces stormed the Rafadh Al Rays area as a part of a military plan to clean Shabwa province of Al Qaeda presence. This military operation comes as an extension to the previously released operations to liberate the areas of Al Hawta and Al-Said, in addition to the rural areas to the southeast of Shabwa on the border with Abyan province", he added.
On Saturday, the Yemeni military, with the support of the Arab coalition, announced a new operation against Al Qaeda in the neighbouring province of Hadramaut. It began on the request of Staff Major General Faraj Salmeen Al Bohsoni, Governor of Hadramaut.
It began after the group had been “expelled from the entire coastline of the Hadramaut Governorate”, which neighbours Shabwa, and its aim was to “chase them into the mountainous areas”, Emirati news agency WAM reported.
Al Qaeda’s strongest arm, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is present in Yemen, and has carried out a series of deadly bomb and shooting attacks in recent years, particularly in the country’s southern regions and against the military that operates in support of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who leads the internationally-recognised government in Yemen.
Yemeni security forces said they also killed a senior ISIS commander on Saturday in a gunbattle in Aden. The death of Saleh Nasser Fadhl Al Bakshi is a significant blow to the militant group in the country. An Aden police spokesperson confirmed Al Bakshi's death in an email to The National.
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Read more:
[ Houthi rebels' No 2 killed in coalition airstrike ]
[ The spark in the Houthi coup — Saleh Al Sammad ]
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Counterterrorism forces surrounded Al Bakshi in a building, according to a statement on the Aden police Facebook page, when he and fellow militants refused to surrender.
Al Bakshi held the title of “Prince” for the Aden region of the militant group’s Yemen affiliate.
The extremist group has conducted a series of bomb and shooting attacks against security forces in the southern regions of Yemen, killing hundreds in the three years that it has operated in the country.
The United States is assisting Yemen in its battle to defeat the militant groups, tripling its number of air strikes in the country last year against Al Qaeda. But, while the US and its allies have managed to somewhat defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the threat from the group and its extremist rival remains in Yemen.
The civil war that has engulfed the country since the Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran the capital Sana’a in March 2015 has opened up a vacuum in Yemen that Al Qaeda and ISIS have been able to exploit to grow in influence. One of the deadliest extremist attacks in the civil war came in March 2015 when ISIS targeted two Shiite mosques in Sana’a, killing 142 people.
While ISIS has successfully conducted high-profile attacks, Al Qaeda managed to take control of large areas of the country’s south, including the city of Al Mukalla, Yemen’s fifth-largest city. It has carried out attacks on security forces in the south and has used the country as a planning base for international plots. Its notorious bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan Al Asiri remains at large and one of the most wanted extremists in the world.
More from Armen Sarkissian
West Indies v India - Third ODI
India 251-4 (50 overs)
Dhoni (78*), Rahane (72), Jadhav (40)
Cummins (2-56), Bishoo (1-38)
West Indies 158 (38.1 overs)
Mohammed (40), Powell (30), Hope (24)
Ashwin (3-28), Yadav (3-41), Pandya (2-32)
India won by 93 runs
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
ILT20 UAE stars
LEADING RUN SCORERS
1 Nicholas Pooran, 261
2 Muhammad Waseem (UAE), 248
3 Chris Lynn, 244
4 Johnson Charles, 232
5 Kusal Perera, 230
BEST BOWLING AVERAGE
(minimum 10 overs bowled)
1 Zuhaib Zubair (UAE), 9 wickets at 12.44
2 Mohammed Rohid (UAE), 7 at 13.00
3 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 17 at 13.05
4 Waqar Salamkheil, 10 at 14.08
5 Aayan Khan (UAE), 4 at 15.50
6 Wanindu Hasaranga, 12 at 16.25
7 Mohammed Jawadullah (UAE), 10 at 17.00
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Dengue fever symptoms
High fever (40°C/104°F)
Severe headache
Pain behind the eyes
Muscle and joint pains
Nausea
Vomiting
Swollen glands
Rash
england euro squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
Race card
6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (Dirt), 1,900m
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB), Dh120,000 (D), 1,400m
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB), Dh92,500 (D)1,400m
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB), Dh95,000 (D), 2,000m
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
Barbie
Director: Greta Gerwig
Stars: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera
Rating: 4/5
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm