Roadside bomb kills three soldiers in Yemen

Source : Al Akhbar English

A roadside bomb in Yemen's capital Sanaa killed three soldiers and injured two others during a security patrol early on Saturday, a security official said.

The bomb was hidden in a plastic bag planted near a police checkpoint in Sanaa's al-Hasaba district, a center of opposition to former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh who was ousted early last year.

The device detonated as the policemen opened the bag to check its contents, the official added.

The official, who requested anonymity, said it was unknown who carried out the attack.

Yemen is the poorest Arab state with a third of the population living on less than $2 a day. It faces a Shi'a uprising in the north, an Islamist insurgency in the south and east, a southern separatist movement and splits in the military.

Washington and Gulf Arab countries fear the impoverished state could disintegrate, allowing Islamist militants to operate freely.

Yemen, which borders top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and sits along the Red Sea crude shipment route, is already home to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The country is navigating an uncertain political transition after Saleh was deposed in early 2012, leading to the creation of a two-year interim government.

Yemen's politicians are currently taking part in a national dialogue aimed at paving the way for a new constitution and planned February 2014 general elections.

(Reuters, AFP, Al-Akhbar)