In Yemen, 5 fighters from secessionist force killed in clashes with suspected al-Qaida militants

CAIRO (AP) — Security officials say that at least five Yemeni fighters from a secessionist group were killed in clashes with suspected al-Qaida militants in the country’s south. A provincial security department said the deadly fighting broke out Wednesday night between a fighting force loyal to Yemen’s secessionist Southern Transitional Council and al-Qaida militants in the southern Abyan province. It said that the forces reclaimed several areas that had been under the militants’ control and that three other fighters were injured in the attack. No further details were given. The Southern Transitional Council is backed by the United Arab Emirates and controls most of Yemen’s south.