Huthi rebels kill 10 Yemen soldiers

DUBAI: Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Sunday killed 10 Yemen army soldiers from a southern separatist faction in a “surprise attack” after more than a year of relative calm, military sources said.

12 others were wounded in the attack by the Huthis in the border area between the southern provinces of Lahj and Al-Bayda, the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. Four Huthi fighters were also killed and several were wounded, the sources said. There was no immediate comment from the rebels.

The attack targeted a site manned by the separatists, who aspire to create an independent state in southern Yemen such as the one that existed until 1990, the military sources said. A flare-up of violence has rocked southern Yemen in recent months, with several fighters loyal to the secessionist Southern Transitional Council and soldiers killed in attacks attributed to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP is considered by the United States to be the jihadist group´s most dangerous offshoot.