Deaths in Yemen air attacks

At least 22 suspected fighters were killed in overnight clashes and an air strike in southern Yemen, where government troops are fighting fighters, a local official and residents said on Sunday. Around 15 of the dead were killed in fighting north of the stronghold of Jaar, a town in Abyan province that has been controlled by the fighter since last year. This month the government began an offensive against Ansar al-Sharia with U.S. help. A military official said the army had managed to recapture key positions in Zinjibar, where at least 63 fighters were killed on Saturday in heavy fighting, many of them Somalis. The bodies of seven fighters were seen on Sunday being carried away from a factory located west of Jaar, which is used by Ansar al-Sharia as a base, after it was attacked by a Yemeni warplane on Saturday night. The United States and Saudi Arabia have been pushing Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour, who took over after Saleh stepped down in February, to unite the army and roll back the fighter gains. American intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say their ability to conduct operations against AQAP inside Yemen, notably with drone strikes, has improved significantly since Hadi took office.