Seven suspected members of the Takfiri ISIL group, including a Westerner, have been captured in an offensive in Yemen’s port city of Aden

Seven suspected members of the Takfiri ISIL group, including a Westerner, have been captured in an offensive in Yemen's port city of Aden.

The captures were made part of an offensive by forces loyal to ex-Yemeni president Abd Rubbuh Mansur Hadi against al-Qaeda and ISIL, which has claimed a wave of deadly attacks in recent months in Aden.

A militant commander, quoted by the AFP news agency, said the arrests were made in the al-Mansoura district of the southern province of Aden on Saturday.

ISIL and other Takfiri groups have exploited a massive Saudi invasion and its attacks on Houthis to expand their footholds in Yemen.

There has been an uptick in violence since Saudi-backed forces stormed the port of Mukalla near Aden.

A security source told local news site Aden al-Ghad that the cell of seven was led by a French national.  

France is said to be the biggest source of European foreign militants joining ISIL, with more than 900 French nationals thought to have left the country to fight for the group in Iraq or Syria.