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| Arabia |
| Fighting in Yemen kills 20 & threatens truce |
| 2010-07-23 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Gunmen killed at least five Yemeni soldiers on Thursday in a suspected al-Qaeda ambush of a military convoy in the south, the third assault on state targets in five weeks blamed on the group's resurgent regional arm. Al-Qaeda in Yemen previously focused on high-impact strikes against Western and Saudi targets, but appears to now be targeting government forces in response to enhanced Yemen-U.S. security coordination and a government crackdown. "There was an ambush targeting the soldiers' vehicle and five were killed and a sixth was wounded. There is suspicion that al-Qaeda was behind the operation," an official in the southern province of Shabwa told Reuters. Yemen, next door to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, leapt to the forefront of Western security concerns after al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December. Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Gulf Research Center, expected attacks on both Western targets in Yemen and local security forces to continue. "It is basically reflecting their renewed strategy that they are going to fight the government, which has allied itself with the Saudis and the Americans," he said. Yemen's often poorly guarded security forces are easier to strike than many Western targets, and the group may hope to capitalise on anti-government sentiment in the south, home to a strong separatist movement. Last month, gunmen raided the regional headquarters of the political security office in Aden, killing 11, an attack al-Qaeda said was revenge for a state assault on a militant stronghold. Last week, more suspected al Qaeda gunmen attacked two security buildings, igniting clashes that killed four people. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 There's a Truce? Who Knew? |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-07-23 19:56 |