11 killed in Yemen clashes

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11 killed in Yemen clashes

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At least 11 people were killed in clashed between government troops and Al Qaeda militants.

30 July,2011 03:14 pm

Eleven people including top officers have been killed in fierce clashes between Yemens army and suspected Al-Qaeda militants in the countrys restive south, military and local officials said on Saturday.A military official said Al Qaeda elements in Dofas province attacked army units by using machine guns, killing two officers and four soldiers, and wounding nine others.The official identified the dead officers as Colonel Mohammed al-Salahi and Colonel Hilal Shamsan.Medics at a military hospital in the strategic southern port city of Aden confirmed the toll.A local official in Dofas, 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Abyans provincial capital of Zinjibar, said that five members of the extremist network were also killed during the attack and four more were wounded.Militants belonging to the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law), which is suspected of links to Al Qaeda, took over much of Zinjibar in May. Thousands of residents have since been displaced by fighting there.Deputy Information Minister Abdo al-Janadi said last week that the United States had provided logistical support to the Yemen militarys 25th Mechanised Brigade, which was until recently besieged by the militants in Zinjibar.