Clashes between al-Qaeda and Yemeni police in Aden

Clashes between Yemeni police and al-Qaeda fighters took place in Aden on Saturday as pro-government forces pressed their offensive to break a rebel siege on Yemen’s third city, Taiz.

Fighting broke out in Mansura after security forces set up new checkpoints in the internationally recognised government's temporary capital of Aden.

Dozens of gunmen donning balaclavas and carrying black al-Qaeda flags deployed to push back police trying to enter the neighbourhood, witnesses said.

Extremists from al-Qaeda’s Arabaian Peninsula branch (AQAP) as well as Islamic State group militants have taken advantage of months-long conflict between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces to reinforce their presence in the south.

Meanwhile, pro-government forces made substantial gains in Yemen's city of Taiz, under Houthi siege for several months.

Troops loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi recaptured large areas of the southern city following violent battles that left 57 dead on Friday.

The loyalists, backed by the forces from the Saudi-led coalition, took back areas in the western and southern suburbs of the city, said governor Ali al-Maamari.

They "reopened key roads that the Houthis had been blocking for nine months", said the governor, who lives in exile in Saudi Arabia.