Qaeda attack kills 19 soldiers in Yemen

Al-Qaeda gunmen killed 19 soldiers in an attack on an army base in southern Yemen Friday, security officials said, a day after deadly assaults by rebels and a jihadist bomber.

The gunmen stormed Al-Mahfad base in Abyan province and remained inside for several hours before military reinforcements came, three security officials told AFP, adding that the soldiers were killed in clashes with the jihadists.

"The Qaeda gunmen took advantage of what happened (Thursday) in Aden and launched an assault on Al-Mahfad base and clashed with soldiers," a government security official said.

"Military reinforcements were sent... and the gunmen were killed while others were driven out with air support from the (Saudi-led) coalition, in an operation that lasted hours," the official said.

"At least 19 soldiers were killed and others wounded." The other two officials confirmed both the details and the death toll.

Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for Friday's attack.

In a statement, the jihadist group said it had "blown up" buildings inside the base and "withdrew safely", but did not claim a death toll for that operation.

Security analyst Aleksandar Mitreski said the jihadist actions appeared "opportunistic".

"Al-Qaeda has neither the capability nor the strategic appetite to open a new front in south Yemen," Mitreski, a researcher at the University of Sydney, told AFP.

"We may see other sporadic attacks in the future motivated by Al-Qaeda's desire to remain a relevant actor in the Yemeni conflict."
A Huthi rebel spokesman told AFP that Thursday's attack was an "intelligence operation" in which "a new kind of missile that we have not unveiled was used as well as a drone that provided support in a big way."