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Militants attack Yemeni soldiers

September 20, 2013

Suspected al Qaeda-linked militants have attacked military targets Yemen's Shabwah Province, killing dozens of people. The area has been the scene of much recent fighting between security forces and Islamist militants.

https://p.dw.com/p/19kvy
epa03875401 Yemeni soldiers patrol at a street following al-Qaeda car bombing attacks on army sites in southern Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen, 20 September 2013. Reports state that at least 65 Yemeni soldiers and officers have died and 38 others have been wounded after al-Qaeda militants launched car bombing attacks on various army sites in the country's southern province of Shabwa. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is seen as one of the international militant network's most dangerous branches. Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), a militia linked to the group, established an effective mini-state in parts of Shabwa and neighbouring Abyan province in 2011, before being driven out in mid-2012 by security forces and allied tribal militias. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

At least 30 people were killed on Friday when two car bombs exploded at a military camp in al-Nashama in Yemen's southern Shabwah Province.

In a separate attack at least 10 were killed when gunmen opened fire on a military headquarters in the nearby town of Maifaa.

News agency Reuters reported that local officials suspect that members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were behind the attacks, although no group has yet claimed responsibility.

Yemeni authorities accuse AQAP of carrying out near-daily attacks on police and army targets in the south and east of the country, where the group is known to be active. The group took advantage of political chaos during an uprising in 2011 that saw the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to strengthen its hold in the south of the country.

AQAP, seen by western countries as one of the most dangerous branches of al Qaeda, has also attempted to carry out a number of bombings on international airlines.

ccp/dr (AFP, AP, Reuters)