|
 Yemen is dogged by internal conflicts and chronic poverty and
Monday's attack highlighted the lack of stability in the
Western-allied country, which shares a border with top global oil
exporter Saudi Arabia and lies next to major shipping lanes.
The Yemeni interior minister suspended senior security officials in
the eastern province of Hadramout where the attack took place and
ordered an immediate investigation, Saba said.
A local official said the troops, who belonged to a paramilitary
unit under the Interior Ministry, were mostly asleep when the
raiders attacked the checkpoint, located some 120 kms (75 miles)
east of the provincial capital al-Mukalla.
"A terrorist attack, involving four armed vehicles, surprised a
security checkpoint ... resulting in 20 members of the special
security forces being martyred," Saba quoted a security source as
saying.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, in
which Saba said one person was also wounded. A security source in
the capital Sanaa said two members of the security forces had been
seized and taken away by the militants.
AL QAEDA ACTIVE
Yemeni officials said the attack appeared to be the work of Al Qaeda
in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active branches of
the militant global al Qaeda network.
The last major AQAP attack targeted the central prison in Sanaa on
February 14, when gunmen killed 11 people, including seven security
guards.
Yemen, which has been in turmoil since mass protests forced out
President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012 after more than three decades
in power, is also battling southern separatists and northern rebels.
Interior Minister Abdou Hussein al-Tarb, appointed this month in a
cabinet reshuffle, suspended the Hadramout security chief, the local
commander of the special security forces and the checkpoint
commander, pending an investigation, Saba said.
[to top of second column] |
The Yemeni army, with U.S. backing, drove AQAP militants and their
allies from some of their southern strongholds in 2012 but the
insurgents have since regrouped and mounted attacks on government
officials and installations. AQAP has also plotted attacks against
international airlines from Yemen.
Maintaining stability in Yemen, an impoverished country of 25
million, is a priority for Washington and Gulf states because of its
geographic location.
The United States often targets suspected al Qaeda militants in
Yemen with drone strikes. Human rights groups have condemned such
attacks, saying they can miss their targets and hit civilians.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa;
writing by Maha
El Dahan; editing by Sami Aboudi and Gareth Jones)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
