US-backed Yemeni forces free 8 hostages in Yemen

Yemen’s supreme security committee say seven Yemenis and a foreigner were rescued just hours after they were taken by al-Qaeda militants when they raided al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahij.

Seven kidnappers were killed in the special forces operation. 

A US official, however, denied that the US-backed Yemeni forces freed a captured American military serviceman, despite earlier claims to the contrary by a Yemeni government official.

"There were no US personnel rescued from Yemen last night," a US defence official said to Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A Yemeni government source had earlier reported to media outlets that an American military instructor was freed. The nationality of the eighth man remains unknown.

Hundreds of foreigners have been kidnapped over past years in Yemen, sometimes by militants but mostly by tribesmen trying to pressure local authorities, or opportunists who sell hostages on to other groups.

Almost all have been freed unharmed, usually in exchange for ransom or government concessions.

Yemen is a key US ally in the fight against al-Qaeda and has allowed Washington to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on its territory.

A military official said that "dozens of American military personnel" are based in al-Anad, to gather intelligence for drone strikes and to train anti-terror forces.

Al-Qaeda has exploited instability in the impoverished country since a 2011 uprising overthrew longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is one of the most active branches of the network.

Several al-Qaeda militants have been killed in attacks by unmanned drones, but militants remain active in southern and eastern regions of Yemen despite several military campaigns by government forces.

Yemen is also vulnerable to infiltration by terrorist groups belonging to Somalia’s al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees cross the Gulf of Aden every year to reach Yemen. African and Yemeni officials have warned that Shebab fighters are among refugees entering the country.

Yemen's interior ministry said overnight that the coast guard was placed on alert in several provinces following information that al-Shebab was planning to enter Yemen to carry out terrorist attacks.

The ministry ordered "increased deployment of security patrols along Yemen's coast in coordination with naval forces... to arrest any elements and foil any suspected movement".