Yemeni Suicide Attack kills 4 Soldiers

Four soldiers in Yemen were killed and seven others injured yesterday when a suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint in the province of al-Baitha, two security officials said.

The attacker used a car bomb, and the explosion was heard more than eight miles away, the security officials said.

After the blast, clashes erupted near the site of the explosion, and a suspected U.S. drone strike killed four alleged al Qaeda militants, including senior al Qaeda operative Nasser al-Thafri, officials said.

Security officials blamed al Qaeda for the suicide attack.

“This province was safe until last month. If this continues, residents will have to evacuate their homes.

Our children are not safe here anymore with both the al Qaeda and American attacks in al-Baitha,” resident Jaber al-Muraisi said, as reported to CNN.

Last Friday, 34 suspected al Qaeda fighters were killed in a U.S. drone strike in al-Baitha. The governor of the province confirmed the death tolls, adding that only four of the dead were senior al Qaeda operatives.

U.S. military officials did not comment on that attack. U.S. officials rarely discuss the drone program, though privately they have said covert strikes using drones are legal and an effective tactic in the fight against extremists.