Sana’a: Security officials say two Yemeni soldiers have been killed by a roadside bomb in a restive province where high-level intelligence officers have been assassinated in the past.
They say four soldiers were also injured in the Saturday attack, which took place in the city of Shar in the southeastern Hadramaut province and was likely carried out by Al Qaida.
The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The military deployed more forces to the city and set up check points after the attack.
Yemeni citizens and security officials say suspected US drones have targeted areas in Hadramaut. The US does not typically comment on specific drone missions.
Earlier, a security official said Al Qaida gunmen attacked a military position in a southern province, touching off fighting that left three militants and two soldiers dead.
The official said the Friday attack in the mountainous Al Thalib region in the militant stronghold of Al Bayda province was repulsed, and nearby army positions responded with heavy artillery shelling.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity according to regulations, said the attack was part of an Al Qaida bid to take positions near Radda, the province capital, which the militants briefly occupied last year but were driven out by government forces.
Al Qaida overran much of the south in 2011, taking advantage of the turmoil caused by a popular uprising. The army supported by US military experts pushed them back, but clashes continue.
