Yemeni army forces stormed into Al-Qaeda's stronghold of Ja'ar in Abyan Province, south of the country earlier on Tuesday, following the withdrawal of Al-Qaeda militants due to the fierce clashes between the two sides for more than a month.

A military source told KUNA that units of the Yemeni army recaptured Ja'ar, and expelled Al-Qaeda militants, and later held a wide-scale sweep of the city, and combed the whole area.

They took over an ammunition factory west of Ja'ar, and took control over the city which had earlier been in Qaeda's grip. The army killed more than 50 Al-Qaeda fighters during the clashes.

Meanwhile, Ja'ar locals said that Al-Qaeda fighters left the city altogether after distributing flyers and sticking posters on walls saying that their withdrawal came to save the lives of citizens, and for the sake of the city that could be damaged due to the violent clashes.