The al-Qaida militants set up a well-planned ambush for a convoy of the pro-government militiamen in Maraksha area in Abyan province, killing at least three people, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.
"A four-car convoy of the pro-government militiamen was ambushed by a group of terrorists while heading toward the mountainous area of Maraksha," the security source said.
A local tribal chief told Xinhua anonymously that "armed confrontations broke out with al-Qaida militants after the attack. Several al-Qaida fighters were either killed or injured in the ongoing fighting."
The al-Qaida terrorist group, which has been waging an insurgency for more than two years, has yet to make comments.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, locally known as Ansar al- Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), took advantage of a political upheaval in 2011 in Yemen to take over several towns of southern restive regions.
The militants were targeted by Yemeni security authorities after a U.S.-backed offensive launched in the southern Abyan province months ago routed the militants out of their strongholds which they had controlled for nearly a year.
The Yemeni government, along with the United states and oil- rich Saudi Arabia, has beefed up anti-terror operation since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February 2012.
from XINHUA
2013-03-22 17:28:20
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