Yemeni forces killed a suspected local Al-Qaeda chief Monday in a clash at his house in the southern province of Abyan, security officials said.

A Yemeni soldier also died and another was wounded after troops stormed the residence of a terrorist identified as Abdullah Hubaibat, on the outskirts of the town of Loder, the officials said.

Two other terrorist suspects were wounded in the fight, while a third was arrested, AFP reported.

Government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition entered Abyan’s capital Zinjibar last month and recaptured other towns across the province.

Saudi Arabia is facing repeated criticism from rights groups and the international community over civilian casualties in the coalition’s military campaign against Yemen that was launched in March 2015.

More than 6,600 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by the Saudi-led war on the poorest Arab country, according to UN figures.

Source: AFP