11 soldiers injured in clashes with al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen

Armed confrontations broke out on Thursday morning between dozens of al-Qaida militants and Yemeni government forces, leaving at least 11 troops injured in the war-torn southern province of Abyan, a security official said. The clashes erupted following a botched armed attack by the al- Qaida members against an army patrol of the 119th Armored Brigade in the northeastern suburbs of Zinjibar city, the provincial capital of Abyan, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. "A total of 11 troops were injured during the clashes with the terrorists using medium and large caliber weapons," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that "the army soldiers were able to confront al-Qaida members, forcing them to retreat from the region." A local medic at the Basuhib military hospital in neighboring Aden province, where injured soldiers were taken for treatment, confirmed to Xinhua the toll, saying that "four of them were gravely wounded." Meanwhile, a close source to the al-Qaida fighters told Xinhua anonymously that "one of our followers was killed and three others were injured during the fiercest gun-battles with army forces this morning." Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, has been the scene of daily fierce fighting after hundreds of militants from the Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) captured Zinjibar and at least three other towns in May 2011. The ongoing fighting showed the country's fragile security situation days ahead of the presidential elections scheduled on Feb. 21 that would end the rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh who is currently in the United States for medical treatment.