Four policemen killed in Al Qaeda attack in Yemen

Four police personnel were killed when suspected Al Qaeda gunmen Saturday attacked a military checkpoint in Yemen, officials said.

Heavily-armed gunmen suspected to belong to Al Qaeda raided a military outpost in Ataq in the southeastern province of Shabwa, Xinhua quoted an official as saying.

Up to 15 Al Qaeda assailants were involved in the attack, a source said.

Five of the Al Qaeda attackers and two police personnel were also wounded in the clash that lasted for two hours, according to a provincial police official in Shabwa.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but military officials blamed militants of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda offshoot for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's southern parts.

The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as Ansar al-Sharia, which emerged in January 2009, is considered one of the greatest threats to the Yemen government and neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.