Yemen says 55 Al-Qaeda suspects killed in Sunday air raids

SANAA (AFP) - A wave of air strikes on Al-Qaeda bases in south Yemen on Sunday killed about 55 militants, including three local chiefs, the interior ministry said.

The raids that targeted Al-Qaeda bases in the rugged mountains of Abyan province were among the "most severe" against the jihadist network in Yemen, the ministry said in a statement on its website on Monday.

On Sunday tribal sources had put the death toll from the raids near the town of Al-Mahfad at more than 30, while a defence ministry website only said "several" militants had been killed.

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