| Follow us on:
|
![Security has been heightened in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after a number of clashes with Al-Qaeda forces there [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/227106520_8-e1399657210987.jpg)
Security has been heightened in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after a number of clashes with Al-Qaeda forces there [Xinhua]
Chinese News Agency Xinhua reported that six soldiers and three unknown fighters were killed in clashes near the Presidential Palace in the capital late Friday.
“Unknown gunmen raided a security checkpoint manned with guarding the presidential palace in Sanaa, sparking armed clashes with the soldiers in the area,” a security official told Xinhua.
To the east of Sanaa, 11 soldiers were wounded when the vehicle they were riding was struck by what appears to have been an improvised explosive device (IED).
The attacks on government soldiers have increased significantly since the military launched a campaign to rout Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) from towns like Maifaa in Shabwa and Abyan Province.
Last week, the military announced it had killed at least 43 fighters in the campaign, but within hours, six soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber struck their outpost in Shabwa.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Muhammad Nasir Ahmed survived an attack by Al-Qaeda fighters on his convoy of vehicles in Shabwa.
Security forces have been boosting security in the capital since a French citizen was killed by unknown armed men in Sanaa on May 6.
The capital has been on security alert since at least 20 soldiers were killed and several others injured when a suspected car bomb exploded outside the defence ministry complex there on December 5.
Source: Agencies
