Yemeni troops kill three Al Qaeda gunmen

At least three Al Qaeda militants were killed in a raid by the Yemeni armed forces Wednesday, a security official said.

Yemen's elite anti-terrorism unit stormed an Al Qaeda-held house in an area between Shibam and Qattan regions in Hadramout governorate, killing three terrorists and injuring several soldiers," Xinhua reported citing the official.

The rest of the terrorists managed to flee the scene, the official said, adding that many weapons, explosives, batteries and other equipment were confiscated by the troops.

Yemeni military officials blamed the Yemen-based Al Qaeda offshoot for a series of assassinations and attacks, mostly in the country's southern parts.

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 Yemeni government and neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.