Suspected al Qaida militants in Yemen kill 3 soldiers in 2 separate attacks

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen’s Interior Ministry says suspected al-Qaida militants have ambushed troops from the country’s special forces, killing two soldiers and wounding five others.

The ministry’s information centre said the troops were ambushed Saturday after returning to their base in the Bayda province, south of the capital, Sanaa. The wounded were taken to a hospital there.

In another attack, a security official said two suspected al-Qaida militants on a motorcycle shot a security man in Sanaa, killing him instantly and taking his weapon before fleeing the scene. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

The special forces are at the forefront of Yemen’s fight against the local branch of al-Qaida, considered by Washington to be the most active in the world.