Militants kill 35 Yemeni soldiers

SANAA, Yemen – Militants intensified their attacks against U.S.-backed Yemeni military forces on Sunday, killing at least 35 government soldiers in a lawless southern region that has become a battleground of suicide bombers, heavy weapons, assassinations and kidnappings.

The clashes in Abyan province – more than 15 militants were also reported killed – were part of an escalation in violence by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and its affiliates. The surge in bloodshed comes after newly elected President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi vowed to crush extremists who have exploited the nation’s political and tribal chaos.

Yemen’s Saba news agency said “many soldiers have been killed and injured in clashes between the army troops and al-Qaida militants in the southern governorate” at an army base near the provincial capital, Zinjibar. The agency said that after “severe fighting,” security forces had regained control of part of the area.

A military source said more than 60 people died in firefights, including at least 35 soldiers, when Islamic extremists set off car bombs and launched an early-morning raid with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades. Officials said that militants, who may have captured more than 50 soldiers, seized artillery and rockets from the base’s arsenal. Residents said extremists also drove away with three tanks and other armored vehicles.