Explosion kills 2 govt soldiers in Yemen's oil-rich Shabwa

Aden (Yemen), Jan 22 (IANS) Two soldiers of Yemen's government forces were killed and four others injured in an explosion in the country's southeastern oil-rich province of Shabwa, a military official said.A local military officer told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity on Saturday that an improvised explosive device on the roadside exploded when a motorcade of military vehicles that escorted trucks carrying diesel passed by in the Ar Rawdah district of Shabwa.The IED, which was planted and remotely detonated by terrorists, also destroyed a military vehicle, the source said.Security forces and a medical team were sent to the site and carried the wounded soldiers to a nearby hospital for treatment, he noted.So far, no group has claimed the responsibility for the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula network has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country. It frequently uses hit-and-run tactics against Yemeni government forces while hiding out in rocky terrains and mountainous areas of Abyan and other neighbouring provinces, including Shabwa.
--IANS int/khz/

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