Forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni president stand guard on a road at the entrance to Abyan province as they take part in an operation to drive Al-Qaeda fighters out of the southern provincial capital, on April 23, 2016. Yemeni forces backed by air power from the Saudi-led Arab coalition launched an operation in Abyan province as they advanced towards Zinjibar and the neighbouring town of Jaar, military sources said. Soldiers reached Al-Kud, five kilometres (three miles) south of Zinjibar where they clashed with Qaeda militants, while coalition Apache helicopters targeted extremist positions in the vicinity, according to the officials. Twelve Al-Qaeda militants and three soldiers died in the fighting, a military official said. Government forces last week expelled militants of the jihadist network's local branch -- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- from Huta, the provincial capital of Lahj, as part of a widespread operation to secure southern provinces. Coalition-backed forces have driven militants out of Aden, the southern city declared by Hadi as temporary capital after Shiite Huthi rebels stormed Sanaa in September 2014. The Arab coalition launched a military operation in support of Hadi in March last year after rebels advanced on his refuge in Aden and forced him to flee to Riyadh. / AFP / SALEH AL-OBEIDI (Photo credit should read SALEH AL-OBEIDI/AFP/Getty Images)