<p>Yemeni defence ministry said seven Al Qaeda men were killed Sunday in a raid carried out in the militant's hideout in Lodar city, increasing the death toll of the militants to 12 since Friday, Xinhua reported.<br /><br />The security forces laid siege to the terrorists who were holed up in some houses in Lodar, the ministry's website quoted security director of Abyan, Brigadier Abdulrazaq al-Marwani, as saying.<br /><br />The clashes have been continuing since Friday.<br /><br />Abyan province is thought to be a stronghold of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) after it witnesses a series of deadly attacks allegedly carried out by the regional terrorist wing since earlier this year.<br /><br />Yemen, the ancestral home of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has intensified military operations against terrorist groups after the Yemen-based Al Qaeda wing claimed responsibility for a failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a US passenger plane bound for Detroit last year.<br /></p>
<p>Yemeni defence ministry said seven Al Qaeda men were killed Sunday in a raid carried out in the militant's hideout in Lodar city, increasing the death toll of the militants to 12 since Friday, Xinhua reported.<br /><br />The security forces laid siege to the terrorists who were holed up in some houses in Lodar, the ministry's website quoted security director of Abyan, Brigadier Abdulrazaq al-Marwani, as saying.<br /><br />The clashes have been continuing since Friday.<br /><br />Abyan province is thought to be a stronghold of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) after it witnesses a series of deadly attacks allegedly carried out by the regional terrorist wing since earlier this year.<br /><br />Yemen, the ancestral home of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has intensified military operations against terrorist groups after the Yemen-based Al Qaeda wing claimed responsibility for a failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a US passenger plane bound for Detroit last year.<br /></p>