Aden: Five Yemenis, including two soldiers and a child, were killed in a gunfight between the army and local gunmen in a southern village on Tuesday, a military official and medics said.
Villagers in Jalila, north of Daleh, obstructed an army vehicle in protest at the setting up of a new military base on a hill overlooking the village, the official said, adding that gunmen opened fire at the tyres of the vehicle.
Army reinforcement clashed with the gunmen.
Two soldiers were killed in the gunfight, while two local gunmen and a girl were also killed, medics said.
The city of Daleh is a bastion of separatists who demand secession of the formerly independent South Yemen from the north.
Meanwhile Yemen’s security forces arrested 152 wanted individuals on Tuesday including 11 suspected members of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemeni Defence Ministry website 26sep.net said, as reported in Yemeni media.
The individuals were arrested in November in several security operations carried out in nine provinces to hunt down wanted individuals, the website said.
The detainees, who were accused of crimes including murder, looting, armed robbery, kidnapping and vehicle hijacking, are currently under investigation.
