3 soldiers dead as ‘dismantled’ bomb explodes in Yemen market

ADEN — Three Yemeni soldiers were killed on Saturday when a mine they had “dismantled” and taken away in their vehicle blew up as they stopped in a marketplace, a security official said.

Seven other people including three civilians were wounded in the blast in Huta, capital of the southern province of Lahj, a bastion of Al Qaeda extremists, according to the official.

The soldiers had “dismantled” the mine planted by suspected militants on a road on the edge of Huta and placed it in the back of their vehicle, he said, declining to be named.

The device exploded when they stopped at a market in the city, he added.

Forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, are at war on two fronts, against both extremists and Shiite Houthi rebels who control swathes of northern and central Yemen.

On Friday, the Houthis announced on their sabanews.net website that they had fired a modified Scud missile with an extended range of 800 kilometres at Saudi territory.

The conflict in Yemen has cost more than 6,600 lives and displaced at least 3 million residents of the impoverished country since the coalition’s intervention in March 2015, according to UN figures.