Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead two Yemeni army officers in the country's capital Tuesday, and clashes between the military and tribal fighters loyal to al Qaeda in a northeastern province killed three soldiers and 11 tribesmen, officials said.
Al Qaeda militants staged a surprise attack Monday on a Yemeni army base in the south, killing 22 soldiers and capturing 25 just hours after a U.S. drone strike killed a senior figure in the terror network wanted in connection with the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.
The Yemeni military on Monday pushed back al Qaeda militants and kept them from taking control of a key city after a lengthy battle that left 44 people dead, authorities said.
Yemeni government forces regained control of a strategic gateway in the south on Tuesday after an intense, three-day shelling of al Qaeda hideouts in the area that left 43 militants dead, military and medical officials said.
Al Qaeda-linked militants staged a surprise attack on a Yemeni army base in the south Saturday, setting off clashes that left 30 dead on both sides before air strikes forced the militants to retreat, military officials said.
The Yemeni army destroyed five homes suspected of hiding al Qaeda militants Tuesday as a siege of a southern village entered its second day, but officials denied reports that U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was among those surrounded.
Fighting intensified in south Yemen on Monday as the army bombarded supposed al Qaeda fighters who appear to have seized control of the city of Loder while civilians fled.
