Forty militants killed in south Yemen - Defence Ministry

ADEN (Reuters) - Forty militants were killed in southern Yemen when government troops captured a military position and trapped 300 fighters there, the Defence Ministry said in a text message sent on Thursday.

It gave no further details.

The Yemeni army is pushing ahead with a U.S.-backed offensive against the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) after they drove militants from two of their main strongholds in southern Yemen last week.

(Reporting By Mohammed Mukhashaf, writing by Mirna Sleiman, editing by Sami Aboudi)