Fighting in Abyan and Shabwa provinces comes amid crackdown on al Qaeda . This comes nearly three weeks after Yemen 's government launched a military offensive against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . The United States has been carrying out airstrikes against the militants since last year to try to stop them from taking over large parts of northern Yemen. Three militants , four Yemeni security troops die in a gunfight in Sanaa , Yemeni officials say .
Fighting in Abyan and Shabwa provinces comes amid crackdown on al Qaeda . The United States has been carrying out airstrikes against the militants since last year to try to stop them from taking over large parts of northern Yemen. Three militants , four Yemeni security troops die in a gunfight in Sanaa , Yemeni officials say .