Al-Qaida militants kill 6 gov't troops in southern Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- An armed group of the al-Qaida militants carried out an offensive against a military barrack of the Yemeni government forces on Sunday, killing at least six troops and injuring three of others in the turbulent southern province of Abyan, an army officer said.

The al-Qaida militants with automatic rifles and rocket- propelled grenades attacked a military battalion of the 201st Armored Army Brigade positioned on the eastern outskirts of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, leaving at least six troops killed and three others injured, the local army officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Scores of al-Qaida militants sealed off the Sawhyl area and fired heavy mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) toward the military position," the officer said, adding that "the unexpected attack came a day after the al-Qaida members got reinforcements from their counterparts in Shabwa and Marib provinces."

The dead and wounded soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital in the neighboring port city of Aden, according to a local medic.

Militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have stepped up attacks on government troops in Yemen's lawless southern and eastern regions, exploiting a turmoil in a country convulsed by ten months of protests.