SANA'A — Al-Qaeda militants have killed three Yemeni soldiers in the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula in what the military said Tuesday was an attempt to capture a city. The commander of the fourth military region, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud El-Subaihi said his forces were using tanks to surround about 70 militants who are taking cover in residential homes in the provincial capital city of Hawtah in Lahj province. Dozens of families from the impoverished city have fled due to violence in the past 24 hours. Militants from across Yemen, particularly areas where they are active in the south, arrived in Hawtah over the past day to fight the army for control of western neighborhoods of the city, security officials said. — AP
