SANA'A: At least eight soldiers were killed and four others wounded this Tuesday during an attack at an army checkpoint by armed men believed to be al-Qaeda militants in Yemen's eastern province of Mareb. Gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on the checkpoint in Shikar district just after dawn. Sources said that five militants were killed during the attack. Heavy clashes overnight between al-Qaeda-linked militants and the Yemeni military in Abyan province killed 63 people, bringing the two-day death toll in the fighting to 127, local news websites reported. The death toll includes more than 100 militants, 14 soldiers and eight tribesmen who were part of a local committee formed to fight al-Qaeda.
