Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for Yemen bombings

A branch of al-Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for twin car bombings which left seven soldiers dead in southeast of the country.

The so-called Ansar al-Sharia militant group, the main al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, issued a statement on Tuesday, saying two of its members had carried out the attacks which left dozens dead and wounded.

Earlier in the day, bombers rammed their explosive-laden vehicles into a military base in Seiyun, the second largest city in Hadramout Province.

“Seven soldiers were killed and eight others wounded,” a Yemeni military source said.

Al-Qaeda militants frequently carry out bomb attacks in Yemen and have been locked in deadly battles with Ansarullah fighters.

Al-Qaeda-linked violence against Yemeni security forces has been growing since February 2012, when President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi came to power in a one-man election backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Yemen’s central government has so far failed to confront the terrorist threat. Shia Ansarullah fighters, however, have intervened to fill the vacuum and have driven al-Qaeda militants out of many areas in the country.