15 killed in al-Qaida attacks in Yemen

Gunmen of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch attacked army checkpoints in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout on Friday morning, killing about 15 soldiers, a military official told Xinhua.

"The attack targeted a number of army checkpoints in the historical city of Shibam in Hadramout at about 8:30 a.m. (0530 GMT). During the fighting, about 15 soldiers were killed at the scene," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

Army reinforcements exchanged heavy gunfire with the al-Qaida assailants after the attack, the military source said.

Local residents have been asked to leave their houses near the fighting scene because the clashes are still going on, a tribal chief said, adding army soldiers are pursuing the assailants.

He said that civilians were affected by the ongoing clashes that caused casualties among residents, but he mentioned no specific number.

Hadramout province has seen scores of attacks after hundreds of militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took control of the provincial capital of Mukalla city several months ago, taking advantage of the civil war between the Shiite Houthi group and government forces.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

AQAP, which emerged in January 2009 and also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions. Endit