According to Yemeni military officials, suspected al-Qaida militants launched a surprise attack on an army checkpoint that killed 15 soldiers and wounded five others. The attack happened on Friday in the southern city of Shibam in a restive province of Hadramawt as the soldiers were having lunch. The soldiers killed a number of their attackers, but militants took the bodies away when they withdrew. Washington considers al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the group’s branch in Yemen, to be the network’s most dangerous offshoot. The group has seized large amounts of land in the south after military officials launched major offensives during the 2012 summer to drive to drive the group out.
