Yemeni forces arrest Daesh cell in Lahij

Security forces have arrested a Daesh cell in Yemen’s southern Lahij province, according to the country’s interior ministry on Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry said the cell had been plotting attacks against officials in the province and the coastal city of Aden.

The ministry blamed the Daesh cell for a spate of attacks in Aden, the current seat of the Yemeni government.

Daesh has claimed a series of attacks that struck Lahij and Aden in recent months.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

Last year, the Pentagon said Daesh has used ungoverned spaces of Yemen to plot, direct, instigate, supply and recruit for attacks against the U.S. and its allies around the world.