Pro-gov't militiamen capture 10 al-Qaida insurgents in southern Yemen

Pro-government militiamen captured 10 al-Qaida insurgents and thwarted an armed attack against a security checkpoint in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Monday, a military official told Xinhua. A 10-member terrorist cell belonging to the al-Qaida group was captured by pro-governmentmilitiamen on the outskirts of Jaar, Abyan's second largest city, the local military official said on condition of anonymity. "The captured terrorists were planning to launch armed operations on an outpost of the security troops there," he said. Meanwhile, at least five soldiers were killed and two others injured when a remote-controlled bomb went off in a military camp in the neighboring port city of Aden. An army officer told Xinhua anonymously that "the explosion was most likely caused by an accident. It happened when soldiers were moving hand grenades and landmines at an ammunition store at the camp." Yemen has undergone a political transition after the stepping down of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier this year under a peaceful transfer of power backed by the UN. Restoring security in Yemen has become a priority after last year's unrest created security vacuum which was exploited by the insurgent al-Qaida wing to control swaths of remote land and expand activities to major cities.