ADEN, Yemen, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni anti-terror troops announced on Saturday that a top leader of the Islamic State (IS) group was killed during a joint security operation in the southern port city of Aden.
The IS leader, Sheikh Saleh AlBakhishi, was killed in a joint operation, when he refused to surrender himself and opened fire on the security forces, Aden's security command said in a statement.
"The raid conducted by the anti-terror troops and the emergency security unit, in partnership with local intelligence officials, also resulted in the arrest of three other IS fighters," the statement added.
An intelligence source told Xinhua that the IS leader killed was responsible for commanding terrorist operations in Aden and the neighboring southern province of Abyan.
The forces of the United Arab Emirates based in Aden provided support for the operation.
The official spokesman of the Aden security administration, Abdul Rahman AlNaqeeb, told Xinhua by phone that "the anti-terror troops aimed at arresting the high-ranking IS leader alive but an armed confrontation erupted in the area."
He said that one member of the anti-terror security team was killed and two others were injured in the exchange of fire that continued for about half an hour.
Security forces also arrested three bodyguards of the IS leader in Aden. Several weapons, documents and explosive devices were seized from the IS-held building, according to the spokesman.
The southern port city of Aden is considered as Yemen's temporary capital and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government based itself there since 2015.
During the past two years, the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other terrorist groups including the IS had an active presence in Yemen's southern part.
The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.
The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.
