Fall of Zinjibar and Jaar

A suspected al-Qaeda suicide bomber killed three Yemeni soldiers and wounded nine others in an attack yesterday on an army position in the country's south, military officials said.

An air strike believed to have been carried out by a US drone in south Yemen on Feb. 4 killed a prominent chief of Al-Qaeda's branch in the war-torn country, a family member said.

Al Qaeda have retaken the two major southern Yemeni towns of Zinjibar and Jaar, while Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah rejected a cabinet reshuffle ordered on Dec. 1, by Hadi.