Five Yemeni Soldiers Killed in Suicide Attack on Military Base
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A suicide bomber killed at least five Yemeni soldiers on Friday in a suspected militant attack on a military base in the south of the country, a Yemeni military official said.
Militants linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are increasingly targeting Yemeni army facilities in the US-allied state, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and flanks major shipping lanes.
The military official said the bomber drove a car laden with explosives and blew himself up at the gate of the army camp in Ahwar, an area in the southern province of Abyan.
Other militants attacked soldiers in the camp with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), the source said, adding that 15 soldiers were wounded in the clashes, Reuters reported.
The military official gave no detail on any casualties among the militants, but said the fighting was still going on.
Local witnesses said a helicopter, apparently belonging to the Yemeni army, was circling in the vicinity.
AQAP is regarded by the United States as one of the most active wings of the militant network, posing a serious threat to Western interests including oil tanker traffic in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
