Yemen Commits Thousands of Troops to al-Qaeda War

Yemen’s government has committed thousands of troops to fighting al-Qaeda in and around the capital city of Sanaa as well as in the provinces of Shabwa, Maarib and Abyan, officials say.

The security forces have reportedly captured five “suspects” and have succeeded in “hemming in” the militants, in addition to claims that it had killed two militants responsible for the threats that forced several Western embassies to close.

The United States praised the move as a “successful counter-terrorism operation” and announced that it would immediately reopen its embassy. Britain and France also resumed limited operations at their embassies, though they remain closed to the public.

Yemeni officials have insisted all along that the al-Qaeda threat was “exaggerated,” and the fact that they have satisfied the US so thoroughly in two days of war by killing two people and capturing five certainly lends credence to that.

Still, questions about the Yemeni government’s ability to continue tackling the al-Qaeda forces while it is also fighting two separate civil wars in the north and south remain.