Yemeni forces kill 7 Al-Qaeda fighters

A Yemeni security official says government troops have killed seven Al-Qaeda-linked militants — including an Iranian, a Pakistani and two Somali nationals — in the latest fighting in a southern province. The official says the military has been shelling two key government buildings in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, after they were overrun by the militants. The official says the latest round of violence began late Tuesday and has continued through Wednesday. He says the seven militants died during the fighting. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Security has collapsed across Yemen during a nine-month popular uprising seeking to topple the regime of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemen's is the longest running of the Arab Spring uprisings around the Middle East, now approaching 10 months. During that time, Egypt's and Tunisia's presidents have fallen, Libya's leader has been killed. In Syria, where protests began a month after Yemen, the uprising has turned into a constant bloodbath with a crackdown by Bashar Assad's regime.