Al Qaeda militants kill two Yemen soldiers Wednesday, 01 February 2012 22:59

SANA’A: Al Qaeda militants killed at least two government soldiers when they ambushed a patrol in central Yemen yesterday, local officials said, the latest example of a rising tide of violence three weeks before a presidential election.    

The attack in oil-producing Maarib province was carried out the day after at least 15 militants were killed in two attacks in southern Yemen.    

“We believe that members of al Qaeda were behind this attack,” the governor of Maarib said. Tribesmen said three soldiers died in the ambush and five soldiers and several militants were wounded.    

Bloodshed has plagued Yemen since mass protests against  President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule began a year ago. Saleh has handed over his powers and is recovering in the United States from injuries sustained in a June assassination attempt.    

In Tuesday’s attacks, a drone killed at least 12 militants in southern Yemen, and government soldiers killed three militants in a separate assault. In Sana’a, gunmen sprayed the information minister’s car with bullets but he was unhurt.    

Washington and oil giant Saudi Arabia, which shares a porous border with Yemen, fear that Saleh’s departure will give Al Qaeda’s Yemen wing room to expand its hold on the country.    

Yemen is due to elect a new president on February 21 to replace Saleh, who handed over his powers to his deputy, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in November under a deal to end the protests. Hadi is the sole candidate in the polls.    

In Sanaa, efforts to secure the release of six aid workers kidnapped by tribesmen in a tourist area west of the capital on Tuesday stalled over demands that a man held in jail be freed first, mediators said.    

They said the hostages were being held at a house in Al Ahjar.

reuters

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