Sana'a (dpa) – Three insurgents linked to al-Qaeda were killed in clashes with government forces on the outskirts of a Yemeni town, official website Almotamar Net reported Wednesday, citing a local source. One elite Republican Guards soldier was also killed, and four injured, in the fighting triggered late Tuesday by an insurgent attack on a checkpoint near the central town of Rada'a, said the website, which is the mouthpiece of the ruling General People's Congress Party. On Tuesday, 11 militants affiliated with al-Qaeda were killed in three strikes by US drones in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, local media reported. Insurgents have taken advantage of a year of political turmoil in Yemen to expand their influence in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country. The opposition has accused outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of manipulating the threat of al-Qaeda to wrest support from the West and extend his stay in power, despite months of protest against him. After 33 years in power, Saleh signed a United Nations-sponsored deal in November to step down. Al-Qaeda's spiritual leader in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed in September by US unmanned aircraft. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ojhdj Tags: Al Qaeda, Killed, Militants Section: Latest News, Yemen