Fresh clashes kill 12 in southern Yemeni city

ADEN: Fighting between the Yemeni army and militants in and around a southern provincial capital of Zinjibar killed 12 people on Wednesday, just days after the government declared it had "liberated" the city from Islamist fighters.

An army official said seven militants and one soldier were killed in a suburb of the coastal city of Zinjibar, which the army last week recaptured from Islamist fighters suspected of links to al Qaeda's Yemen-based branch. Four more militants were killed in another part of Zinjibar.

"The militants sneaked into the area to try to carry out a suicide attack, but the snipers from the army prevented them and killed seven extremists," said the military official.

Residents said the army launched Katyusha rockets against pockets of insurgents in the city.

Zinjibar, capital of the volatile Abyan province, was seized in May by militants.

The United States and Saudi Arabia fear lawlessness in Yemen's south will embolden militants to launch strikes on the region and beyond.

Opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, recovering in the Saudi capital Riyadh from a June assassination attempt, have accused him of exaggerating the al Qaeda threat or even manipulating militants as a ruse to scare Washington and Riyadh into backing him.

Saleh is holding onto power despite international pressure to quit and months of protests against his 33-year rule.

Copyright Reuters, 2011