Sana’a At least three Yemen soldiers and a suicide bomber were killed yesterday morning in two consecutive Al Qaida-suspected attacks targeting police posts in the restive eastern province of Al Bayda local journalist told Gulf News.
In the first attack, three soldiers were killed and four injured when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a checkpoint overrun by Republican Guard and police.
Shortly after the suicide blast, another group of Al Qaida-suspected militants carried out an assault at the same checkpoint. The injured soldiers exchanged fire killing Al Qaida’s commander Nasser Al Dhafiri.
The attacks come as the ministry of interior warned that Al Qaida is planning to attack government and security sites with car bombs.
The ministry of defence website quoted the governor of the province, Mohammad Nasser Al Ameri, as saying that security forces killed many Al Qaida members in clashes while others fled. The governor didn’t comment on the capture of some soldiers by Al Qaida.
Al Qaida militants have become active in the once peaceful province of Al Bayda since early this year when militants stormed a small town in a bid to annex it. Last Friday, an air raid killed at least 30 militants and Al Qaida threatened to retaliate for their deaths. Dozens of Yemeni soldiers are still in Al Qaida’s custody in Abyan following an assault on security site a week ago.
Protests
In the port city of Mukalla, a secessionist protester was shot dead and another was critically injured on Monday evening when police used live bullets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of secessionist mourners gathered to pay tribute to a fellow protester killed late last month.
Witnesses said that police opened fire on the protesters who scattered in the streets of Mukalla after the burial of the separatist activist who was killed in a similar incident.
Five other protesters were also injured in the gunfire. Police accused protesters of attacking policemen and local people.
