Suicide bomber kills three Yemeni soldiers in south

A suicide bomber killed three Yemeni soldiers in southern Yemen on Tuesday, a military official said, a day after a suspected US drone strike killed five Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants.

The official said the bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a military checkpoint on a hill between the southern provinces of Bayda and Abyan, mostly lawless regions where Al-Qaeda militants have strengthened their presence.

At least five other soldiers were wounded in the attack, which the official said was likely carried out by Al-Qaeda or its local affiliates.

In a separate incident late Monday, a suspected US drone strike in Shabwa province killed five Al-Qaeda militants, a local government official said.

The strike was in the Kharama area between the towns of Azzan and Huta.

The deadly raid comes just days after three local Al-Qaeda leaders were killed in an air strike on their car in Bayda, about 210 km southeast of Sanaa.

The defence ministry said Saturday's raid was conducted by Yemeni warplanes, but a security official told AFP a US drone was responsible.

In other violence on Tuesday, 10 soldiers were wounded in repeated mortar attacks by Al-Qaeda militants on a military base south of Loder, in Abyan, where fierce clashes last week left more than 200 people dead.

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