At least seven pro-government tribesmen were injured in clashes with a group of al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southern province of Lahj on Saturday afternoon, a security official told Xinhua.

The gunfight erupted when a group of the al-Qaida militants attacked a checkpoint manned by pro-government militiamen on the northern outskirts of Houta town, the provincial capital of Lahj, leaving at least seven tribesmen injured, the local security official said on condition of anonymity. "The pro-government militiamen confronted the al-Qaida gunmen and repelled the attack. Seven injured tribesmen were hit by bullets as the terrorists fired gunshots indiscriminately during the clashes," the official said.

The al-Qaida attackers fled the scene, according to the security source.

On Friday, an al-Qaida suicide car bomber exploded his explosives-laden vehicle at an army base in the neighboring southern province of Abyan, killing 15 soldiers and wounding more than 20, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Yemen's military launched a months-long offensive earlier this year and forced al-Qaida militants to flee several of their bastions in the country's restive southern and eastern provinces, which they captured during last year's political turmoil.

The resurgent Yemeni branch of al-Qaida, which has increased its attacks on both foreign and government targets in the Arabian Peninsula state, vowed to carry out more suicide attacks to take revenge.

Fighting al-Qaida militants in the restive south is one of the challenges confronting Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions and uproot the Yemeni branch of al- Qaida with the help of the United States and neighboring Saudi Arabia. Enditem

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)