ADEN – At least 13 soldiers and 13 suspected Al-Qaeda members died in an attack on an army base in Yemen's southern province of Abyan Friday, medical and military sources said. Violence has intensified in Yemen in recent weeks. The United States, wary of the growing power of Al-Qaeda, has stepped up drone strikes on suspected militant positions and militants have increased attacks on state and army targets. Two militants wearing army uniforms drove an explosives-laden car into the military base, killing themselves and 10 soldiers and injuring 15 other soldiers, a military official said. Moments later, a group of militants attacked the base from the sea and 11 more militants and three soldiers were killed in the fighting that followed. “The two suicide bombers were wearing army uniforms, and even their car had a military numberplate, so they didn't raise any suspicion,” an injured soldier told Reuters by telephone from hospital. On Thursday, nine suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed in what a security source and residents said was a US drone attack on a farmhouse outside a town in southern Yemen that was held by militants last year. – Reuters
