Yemen Army Rockets Kill 6 Qaida Suspects

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Yemen's army killed six suspected al-Qaida militants in a Katyusha rocket attack on their hideout in the restive southern city of Zinjibar, an official said on Thursday.

"The army carried out heavy shelling using Katyusha rockets on a house in Zinjibar's east where al-Qaida militants were gathered to plot attacks on army units... killing six," said the official in the adjacent town of Jaar.

Among the dead were a Saudi and a Algerian, said the official, adding the house in which they were hiding was completely demolished in the attack that took place late on Wednesday.

An army official meanwhile said that five soldiers were also wounded Wednesday in clashes in Zinjibar and were taken to a military hospital in the main southern city of Aden.

Nearly 270 Yemeni soldiers have been killed in the battles that began in May with militants from the Partisans of Sharia, the al-Qaida-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar, according to an army toll.

At least 400 extremists were also killed during the same battles, according to local officials in the region.

The terror network has been able to turn 11 months of political turmoil in Yemen to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.

Militants linked to al-Qaida control several regions and towns including Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.

Government forces are also sometimes supported by U.S. drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia.