SANA'A – Yemeni troops backed by tanks attacked an Al-Qaeda stronghold Monday after talks to free three Western hostages collapsed, an official and residents said, leading to a retaliatory militant raid that killed three soldiers. A Finnish couple and an Austrian man, who were studying Arabic in Yemen, were snatched last month by tribesmen in the capital Sana'a. They were later sold to members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and transferred to the southern Al-Bayda province, a Yemeni official saidearlier this month. A separate government official said the army began its Monday offensive after AQAP rejected demands to release the hostages. Residents said they saw dozens of tanks and armored vehicles moving at dawn toward Al-Qaeda's Al-Manaseh stronghold in Al-Bayda. “A few hours later, army forces started shelling. We could hear explosions,” a man who gave his name only as Abdullah said by telephone. Militants retaliated by attacking a military checkpoint in Radda, a town near Al-Manaseh. At least three soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in the attack, medical sources said. The kidnapping of Westerners occurs sporadically in Yemen, mostly by tribesmen seeking bargaining clout in disputes with the authorities or by Al-Qaeda militants. – Reuters
