'21 separatist fighters, 6 extremists dead in Yemen Al Qaeda attack'

ADEN — Twenty-one separatist fighters and six members of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch were killed on Tuesday in an attack by the extremist group in the country's south, government and security sources said.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) attacked positions held by the UAE-trained Security Belt group in Abyan governorate, in clashes that lasted about three hours, the sources told AFP.

The fighting "left 21 dead among the [Security Belt], including an officer, and six among the Al Qaeda combatants", a government official said on condition of anonymity.

Two security sources confirmed the death toll.

Yemen has been gripped by conflict since Iran-backed Houthi rebels took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the beleaguered government the following year.

AQAP and militants loyal to the Daesh group have thrived in the chaos.

The fighting comes as the Houthis and forces supporting the ousted government observe a shaky ceasefire in the years-long civil war.

Riven by divisions, the groups opposing the Houthis, who originate from the north, include southern separatists who support the re-establishment of South Yemen.

The country was divided into North and South Yemen until 1990.