Monday, May 07, 2012
(Adds details, medic confirming death toll, background.)
ADEN (AFP)--Al-Qaeda gunmen Monday launched attacks on two army posts in south Yemen, killing at least 20 soldiers, apparently to avenge the death of a top militant in an air raid, a military official said.
The militants attacked the military posts outside the city of Zinjibar, which they have controlled since May last year, said the official. Four officers were among those killed, he said.
A medic in Aden confirmed the toll, adding that 11 others were wounded.
Some 25 other soldiers haven't been accounted for, the military official said, adding that dozens of militants took part in the attack, some of whom arrived by sea.
A medic in the neighboring town of Jaar, which is also controlled by al Qaeda, said 16 militants were killed in the gunfights around Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, and their bodies were evacuated to Jaar.
The attacks came after Yemeni al Qaeda leader Fahd al-Quso, who was wanted in connection with the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, was killed in an air strike in eastern Yemen Sunday.
The October 2000 attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer in Yemen's port of Aden killed 17 sailors and wounded 40 more.
Quso was killed when two missiles hit near his home in Rafadh, east of Ataq, the provincial capital of Shabwa province, a tribal chief said, adding that two of the suspect's bodyguards were also killed in the raid.
Quso's name figured on an FBI list of most-wanted terrorists, along with a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
"They attacked our positions in retaliation for the killing of Fahd al-Quso," said a military official.
He said the army had been anticipating al Qaeda to retaliate for the killing of Quso, saying that an alert was sent out to all units to expect an attack by the "enemy" following Sunday's air raid.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-05-12 1128GMT
