ADEN, Yemen, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Five Yemeni soldiers were killed and about 7 others wounded in a suspected al-Qaida attack on a military barracks in the country's southeastern province of Hadramout on Friday evening, a local security official told Xinhua.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that armed assailants launched a coordinated assault on a position belonging to the 4th Brigade of the government-affiliated Nation's Shield Forces in the Ramah area of the oil-rich province.
The attackers stormed the barracks, sparking a firefight that left five soldiers dead and around 7 wounded, some critically, the official added.
According to the official, preliminary assessments indicate that the attackers were suspected members of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemen-based branch of the global terrorist network, though no group has immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.
Pro-government security forces have launched an investigation and intensified security measures in the surrounding areas in search of those responsible, the official added.
AQAP has repeatedly struck Yemeni government forces, particularly in the country's southern and southeastern provinces, despite years of counterterrorism operations aimed at curbing its influence. ■
