40 al-Qaida fighters die in Yemen clashes

Yemen government troops have killed 40 militants in a push to drive out al-Qaida fighters from the last town under their control in the southern Abyan province.

The militants died overnight in fighting between the provincial capital of Zinjibar and Shoqra to the east, officials said.

The offensive comes just days after Yemeni forces regained control of Zinjibar and the town of Jaar, which have been under al Qaida’s control for more than a year.

During the Shoqra fighting, an airstrike hit a home and killed four members of the same family, an official said.