'Qaeda' ambush kills 10 Yemeni soldiers

ADEN: Suspected Al-Qaeda militants killed 10 soldiers in an ambush on a road in southern Yemen, where the network has a stronghold, a military official said on Thursday.

The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle in which the soldiers were travelling on Wednesday, north of the city of Loder, in Abyan province, killing them all, the official told. Only the driver survived, although he was wounded, a medical official said.

A witness said he saw three armed men shoot at the soldiers, adding they prevented people from carrying away the soldiers' bodies, only allowing them to take the driver to hospital in Loder.

An official at the hospital confirmed the wounded driver was admitted to the facility, which also later received the bodies of the 10 soldiers after the attackers left the scene of the shooting.

Supporters of Al-Qaeda have strengthened their grip on southern Yemen since a wave of popular protests erupted in late January against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Sanaa government says the militants are allied with Al-Qaeda but the opposition accuses it of playing up a jihadist threat in an attempt to keep Saleh in power. (AFP)