Alwaght-According to Reuters, At least 15 people were killed in heavy fighting between extremist tribesmen and Ansarullah in central Yemen on Friday. The Ansarullah also entered Radaa city, in the central province of al-Bayda, a bastion of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), local officials, and residents said.
The Ansarullah established themselves as Yemen's new powerbrokers last month, capturing the capital Sana'a on Sept. 21 to little resistance from residents or from the weak administration of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Ansarullah not only tries to establish democracy in Yemen, but also it is fighting terrorists and Separatist to establish security and stability in Yemen. Their ascendance has angered al Qaeda, which views Shi'ites as heretics. Last week, AQAP claimed a suicide bombing on a Houthi gathering that killed at least 47 people.
In Friday's fighting, medical sources said 15 people from both sides were killed on the outskirts and inside the city of Ibb, 150 km (90 miles) south of Sana'a. "We are hearing the sound of machine-guns and mortars everywhere," a resident told Reuters by telephone. The city of Ibb borders al-Bayda province. Al Qaeda said in a statement that its fighters had stormed the town of Odein, near Ibb on Wednesday, killing three soldiers and holding it for nine hours before withdrawing. Saudi Arabia, Yemen's northern neighbor, supports extremist Sunni tribes to fight Ansarullah. Al-Saud's Wahhabi regime, an extremist Sunni regime, also views Shiite as its main enemy; therefore spares no effort to eliminate Ansarullah Shiite movement, whether through proxy war or even direct military action.
Ansarullah fighters have been making advances outside of Sana'a in recent days, taking over cities and towns with the apparent agreement of the authorities there. At least 10 people were killed on Thursday in fighting between Ansarullah tribesmen and al Qaeda-linked militants.
