2 soldiers killed in attack on army checkpoint in Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Three secessionists attacked an army checkpoint in Yemen's southern province of al-Dhalea on Tuesday, killing at least two soldiers, a police source and some local residents told Xinhua.

The pro-secession gunmen attacked a key checkpoint in a eastern suburb of al-Dhalea province and tried to take control of it, killing at least two soldiers at the scene, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Also, some local residents told Xinhua that the attackers, riding two motorbikes, threw two grenades toward the soldiers at the checkpoint and then fled.

Army reinforcements were later deployed around the military site, according to witnesses.

Last week, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi started a national dialogue to end the country's prolonged political crisis.

The talks aimed to end separatist movement in the south in order to preserve unity, draft a new constitution and pave the way for the parliamentary and presidential elections set for February 2014.

However, leaders of the separatist Southern Movement refused to join the talks, insisting that the government troops should withdraw from the south.

from XINHUA
2013-03-27 08:27:05

Posted in: ADEN, al-Dhalea, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, Yemen