Sana'a (dpa) – At least three soldiers were killed Wednesday when gunmen attacked them near Yemen's eastern province of Mareb, local media reported. The gunmen ambushed the military convoy on its way to the province, reported the Yemeni website Mareb Press citing local sources. The site quoted the province's Governor Najui al-Zayadi as accusing al-Qaeda radicals of being behind the attack, that also left another three soldiers injured. The convoy was on mission to hunt for insurgents suspected of blowing up a major oil pipeline in Mareb, al-Zayadi said. The Yemeni government announced earlier this week a plan to tighten security to protect the pipeline from fresh attacks. Elsewhere, three insurgents linked to al-Qaeda were reportedly killed in clashes with government forces on the outskirts of the central town of Rada'a. One elite Republican Guards soldier was killed, and four injured, in the fighting triggered late Tuesday by an insurgent attack on a checkpoint near Rada'a, reported Almotamar Net, 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. He arrived in the United States for medical treatment on Saturday, but has said he intends to return to Yemen. Al-Qaeda's spiritual leader in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed in September by US unmanned aircraft. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/S4mZ2 Tags: Al Qaeda, Mareb, Soldiers Section: Latest News, Yemen
