3 Yemeni soldiers killed in al-Qaida attack

About three members of Yemeni armed forces were killed in an al-Qaida attack on their base in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Saturday morning, a provincial police source told Xinhua. Three members of the 115th Armored Army Brigade were killed when unidentified gunmen believed to be from the al-Qaida attacked their base stationed in district of Lowder in southern Abyan province, the police source said on condition of anonymity. Hours later, reinforcement army troops arrived at the site and engaged in armed confrontation with the al-Qaida attackers, the source said. A local tribal chief confirmed the assault and said there were "victims from both sides" without specifying the number. "Al-Qaida attackers attacked an army base. There was a clash between them and the soldiers. Several people were either killed or injured," the tribal source said anonymously. No group has claimed responsibility so far for the ambush attack and the Yemeni Defense Ministry has yet to comment. Militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot were blamed by the country's government for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions. The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which emerged in January 2009, is considered the most strategic threat to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Source: XINHUA