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6 injured in al-Qaida car bombing in Yemen

08 August 2012 21:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least six pro-government tribesmen were injured on Wednesday evening when a booby-trapped car exploded near a tribal checkpoint in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

An al-Qaida member detonated an explosive-laden vehicle at a tribal checkpoint in the main entrance of Jaar town in Abyan province, injuring at least six pro-government tribesmen, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"The al-Qaida bomber struck a checkpoint, killing himself only at the scene and injuring six tribal fighters, some of whom in critical condition," the government official said.

"The bomber was aiming to target Abdullateef al-Sayed, the leader of anti-al-Qaida militiamen, but unfortunately he failed to reach there," he added.

Leaders of the pro-government tribesmen have recently become targets of suicide bombings by al-Qaida militants who were forced to flee Abyan in June following fierce battles that left hundreds of people killed two months ago.

Earlier this week, an al-Qaida suicide bomber blew himself up during a funeral attended by social figures and tribal chiefs in Jaar town, killing at least 46 people and injuring 48 others, according to the Defense Ministry.

Backed by the United States and top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government waged a month-long intensive offensive in May against hundreds of al-Qaida militants, recapturing several villages and towns seized by the insurgents in the southern Abyan province last year.

Local military and anti-terrorism experts said that the Yemen- based al-Qaida branch is still a major threat to the impoverished Arab country despite being driven out of its main southern bastions by the U.S.-backed military offensive in June.