Four Yemeni soldiers were shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday during an attack on a military vehicle in a southern province, an official said.
The gunmen opened fire on the military vehicle as it headed to an army checkpoint near the port of Balhaf gas-export terminal in the Shabwa province, the official told Agence France Presse.
"The attack killed four soldiers and wounded three others," he said to AFP, noting that since the attack, the Yemeni army have been hunting for the gunmen responsible. They fled the scene immediately after the attack.
Violence against Yemen's security forces and intelligence officers are becoming more frequent in the country's restive south, where Al Qaeda's most active branch, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, remains a tanigble threat despite several government military campaigns. Meanwhile, southern separatists have been calling and protesting fiercely for their independence, AFP reported.
