"The Yemeni air force carried out three strikes on the police station in Al-Wadih, which has been controlled by Al-Qaeda gunmen for more than a month, killing three," the official said, adding that the raids did not cause civilian casualties.
Yemeni security forces have for weeks been battling alleged Al-Qaeda gunmen in Abyan, especially in the provincial capital of Zinjibar, which has been mostly controlled by militants since May.
The Sanaa government says the militants are allied with Al-Qaeda but the opposition accuses it of playing up a jihadist threat in a desperate attempt to keep embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh in power.
The country is the home of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, an affiliate of the global network accused of anti-US plots, including an attempt to blow up a US-bound aircraft on Christmas Day 2009.
President Saleh had been a key US ally in its US "war on terror" but has faced mass protests against his rule since January. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
