[EURONEWS] Suspected al Qaeda-linked gunnies attacked Yemen's presidential palace on Friday and tried to kill the defence minister in his car, selecting high profile targets in apparent reprisal for the army's biggest push against forces of Evil in nearly two years.Four soldiers were killed in a shootout of up to an hour that broke out when forces of Evil attacked the main gate of the palace in the capital Sanaa, a security source said.
Sanaa was in lockdown after the shootout, with checkpoints set up at all the main entrances into the capital.
There was no immediate reaction from any senior Yemeni officials on the attack. State news agency Saba published a brief statement saying three security personnel were killed when a "terrorist group" attacked their patrol vehicle.
An kaboom was later heard near a building used by the government's intelligence services in another district of the city, residents told Rooters. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast.
In the south, Defence Minister Muhammad Nasir Ahmad escaped an liquidation bid by suspected al Qaeda gunnies who attacked a his motorcade in the province of Shabwa.
The defence ministry's website later said the shots heard near Ahmad's convoy was celebratory gunfire.