Gulf | Yemen
Yemeni soldier killed in checkpost shootout
Gunmen killed a Yemeni soldier and injured seven others on Saturday in pre-dawn attacks against two military checkpoints that local security officials suspect may have been carried out by Al Qaida.
- AP
- Published: 20:59 April 5, 2008
Sana'a: Gunmen killed a Yemeni soldier and injured seven others on Saturday in pre-dawn attacks against two military checkpoints that local security officials suspect may have been carried out by Al Qaida.
The gunmen opened fire with machine guns and then followed with rocket-propelled grenades, a tactic commonly used by Al Qaida in the country, said a Yemeni security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
Al Qaida has an active presence in Yemen despite government efforts to destroy the network.
The group was blamed for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole destroyer in Aden that killed 17 American sailors and an attack on a French oil tanker that killed one person two years later.
The Yemeni government has also blamed the terrorist network for several recent attacks against foreign tourists in the country.
The military checkpoints attacked within two hours of each other yesterday were located 4km apart in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramauth, said the official.
It was not immediately clear if the same attackers were involved in both incidents.
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