12/05/2014 10:04
More attacks in Yemen kill soldiers as violence moves to capital
More violence from suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen continued Sunday in two separate attacks, CNN reported.
At least 13 Yemeni soldiers were killed and nine others were injured when the militants ambushed a military police headquarters in the southern Yemeni province of Hadramout, two Interior Ministry officials told CNN. The attackers "easily escaped," said Ali BaNajjar, who witnessed the ambush in Hadramout.
A second attack occurred close to a checkpoint near the Yemeni presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa, according the government officials. Several militants were killed, said Mohammed al-Qayedi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
It's not the first time militants have targeted Sanaa security forces. On Friday, nearly 20 gunmen attacked the political security headquarters in the capital and killed four troops and injured at least four others at a checkpoint. Three attackers were killed, while the others fled unharmed.
The violence seems in line with a promise a senior al Qaeda operative made last week -- that the organization was going to bring bloodshed to Sanaa.
Al Qaeda appears to be making good on its threat, one Yemen-based analyst told CNN.
"After al Qaeda threatened to move the fight to the main cities, attacks against foreigners and Yemeni forces in Sanaa more than tripled compar(ed) to a month before," said AbdulSalam Mohammed, president of the Sanaa-based Abaad Strategic Center. "Troops need to be on high alert if they have a chance to defeat the militants."