Three die in Yemen as bomb goes off outside courthouse

Sana'a: Three children died on Thursday in an explosion in front of a courthouse in a remote province of Yemen, where Al Qaida militants are challenging central government authority, a security source said.

A family was walking past the building in Al Qatn in the Hadramout province of east Yemen, when one of them stepped on the bomb.

The three who died were aged from 10 to 16 years. It was not clear when the bomb had been planted.

The Arabian Peninsula state, next to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and along vital world shipping lanes, is trying to restore stability amid fears that Islamist militants will entrench themselves following an uprising that forced former ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in February.