Eight Yemeni trooops and a civilian were killed on Saturday in an attack by Al-Qaeda gunmen on an army post in the southern province of Abyan, a security official told AFP. "Eight soldiers were killed in an attack by members of Al-Qaeda on a military post in Al-Rai neighbourhood, west of the town of Jaar in Abyan" province, the official said. "The soldiers were breaking the (Ramadan fast when four armed militants attacked them using RPG ... and machine guns," the official said.
Seven of the troops died on the spot while the eighth was hurt and later died of his wounds at a hospital in the town of Jaar, located five kilometres from Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, the official added. One civilian, a government employee, was also killed in the attack, the security official said.
Earlier on Saturday, the defence ministry's website reported that gunmen had killed a soldier and wounded three others in an ambush in the southern province of Lahij.
