Yemeni forces have launched an operation to drive Al-Qaeda fighters out of Southern towns, where blistering air strikes killed nearly 60 militants last week, a military official said on Tuesday. Army troops backed by local militiamen had moved in to "purge" the towns of Ahwar and Al-Mahfad, in Abyan province, and Azzan, Al-Houta, Al-Rawda and Al-Saeed in Shabwa province, the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.