ADEN, Yemen, June 14 (Xinhua) -- At least three pro-government soldiers were killed and nearly seven other injured when a suicide car bomb struck a checkpoint in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Thursday, a military official told Xinhua.
The military official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that a suicide bomber drove and then detonated his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint of the newly-recruited security troops in Wadhea district of Abyan province.
The suicide attack killed three soldiers and injured seven others of the Yemeni troops backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source said.
A government source in Abyan confirmed that new reinforcements arrived at the scene and are continuing combing and securing the area.
No groups have claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However, the local sources based in Abyan did not rule out possibility for involvement of al-Qaida militants.
The al-Qaida network mostly operating in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in southeastern provinces.
