The forces took over the central prison, surrounding buildings and residential areas in Mansoura district after three days of clashes.

The Yemeni army backed by local fighters seized control of parts of Aden held by al-Qaeda on Wednesday as part of a push to clear the hardline group from its stronghold in the southern port city, a security official said.

The forces took over the central prison, surrounding buildings and residential areas in Mansoura district after three days of clashes. They captured several fighters while others fled, the official said.

Aden is the temporary home of Yemen’s government which was forced out of the capital Sanaa by a separate conflict with Iran-allied Houthi militias in 2014. The war has drawn in a Saudi-led military alliance and killed more than 6,000 people.

Islamist militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIS have exploited the chaos in the year-long war, especially in the southern provinces.

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