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ADEN, May 12 (Reuters) - Two apparent U.S. drone attacks killed atleast 16 suspected al Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen on Saturday,while Yemeni government forces killed 15 others in a new offensiveagainst insurgents, local and military officials said. U.S. officials said this week they had thwarted a plot by theYemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to arm asuicide bomber with a non-metallic device, an upgraded version ofthe underwear bomb carried onto an airliner on Christmas Day2009. AQAP, a regional branch of the militant network, has plottedoverseas attacks that have been prevented but raised major concernfor Washington, which is trying to wipe out suspected AQAPoperatives with drone and missile strikes. An air strike believed to have been carried out by a U.S. drone settwo vehicles on fire, killing seven suspected insurgents in thesoutheastern province of Shabwa, a local official told Reuters. Oneof the dead was an Egyptian, he said. Another local securityofficial said six militants were killed. Hours later, the Defence Ministry said in a text message toreporters that 10 al Qaeda militants had been killed in another airstrike in the eastern oil-producing province of Maarib. Yemen andWashington do not acknowledge U.S. drone attacks. It was the latest in a series of reported drone attacks onmilitants in the south of the impoverished Arab country whoexploited mass protests last year against then-President AliAbdullah Saleh to seize large swathes of territory, includingZinjibar, the capital of restive Abyan province. Last week, the U.S. Defense Department said Washington had resumedtraining Yemeni armed forces to bolster the fight against al Qaeda,after a suspension during the political upheaval that ousted Saleh. In a sign of growing lawlessness after more than a year of unrest,Bulgaria s ambassador to Yemen escaped with minor injuries onSaturday after masked gunmen opened fire on his car in the capitaland tried to kidnap him, a Western diplomat said. RESIDENTS TOLD LEAVE BATTLE ZONES Residents said Yemeni air force planes dropped leaflets on Saturdayurging civilians to leave areas held by militants targeted by thearmy offensive, prompting a mass exodus from parts of Abyan. Fifteen insurgents as well as five soldiers and an army officerwere killed in fighting on Saturday, a military official who didnot want to be identified told Reuters. A force of about 20,000 men is taking part in this offensive,ordered by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to free the cities ofZinjibar and Jaar, he said. Navy units would also be used inoperations along Abyan s coast on the Gulf of Aden. Yemen s fractured state and dysfunctional security apparatus haveprovided al Qaeda s regional wing with a suitable breeding groundfor bomb plots on Western targets. But tribal leaders in parts of Yemen where drone attacks aimed atAQAP have killed civilians say the air strikes are turning more andmore people against the government and the United States. Yemen s army, which split into two factions during the uprisingthat eventually unseated Saleh, has been battling to get the upperhand against the militants. In March, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR warned that Yemenwas facing a new wave of internal displacement as tens of thousandsof civilians fled tribal clashes in the north and fighting withmilitants in the south. Hadi, who had been Saleh s vice-president, was elected unopposedin February under a U.S.-backed power transition plan brokered byYemen s Gulf neighbours to end the political turmoil. Hadi hasvowed to defeat al Qaeda and unify the army. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as PPS Sheet , China HDPE Plastic Sheets, and more. For more , please visit Phenolic Plastic Sheets today!
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