5 killed in attack on police checkpoint in Yemen

Yemeni soldiers are positioned outside lower court in Sanaa Five policemen were killed and one was wounded Wednesday when al-Qaida suspects launched an attack on a police checkpoint in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, a government official told Xinhua. The al-Qaida suspects raided a police checkpost located on the outskirts of Hadramout early Wednesday morning, leaving at least five policemen dead and one injured, the local official said on condition of anonymity, adding that another two policemen went missing after the surprise attack.
The attackers fled the scene shortly after the armed assault. Officers of the criminal police deportment have launched an investigation into the incident.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Yemeni security services repeatedly blamed militants of the al- Qaida offshoot for a series of assassination attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which emerged in January 2009, is considered the most strategic threat to the Yemeni government and its neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
Source: XINHUA