Four Yemeni soldiers killed by suspected al Qaeda truck bombing

Four men wearing explosive vests emerged from their truck at the checkpoint in the town of Mudia while the driver detonated the vehicle, the official told Reuters.

All five attackers were killed in the explosions, which could be felt throughout the town, he said. Al Qaeda’s local affiliate in Yemen, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), later claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on its Telegram channel, according to the SITE monitoring centre

The group has taken advantage of a civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s Saudi-backed government to strengthen its position in the impoverished country.

AQAP operates in several provinces in south and eastern Yemen, including in Abyan, Shabwa and al-Bayda.