SANA, Yemen — Clashes in Yemen between the army and al-Qaida’s local branch killed at least 13 suspected militants and four troops Saturday, military officials said.
The officials said the fighting started in the early hours when a suicide car bomber attacked a military camp in the city of al-Qatn in the southern province of Hadramawt. Militants then assaulted the camp, prompting a gunbattle that lasted for more than an hour that killed 10 suspected militants and four troops.
The army also fired artillery at a nearby home believed to hide al-Qaida fighters, killing three suspected militants inside, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
The U.S. considers Yemen’s al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula the most dangerous branch of the group in the world.