Yemeni security forces capture two al-Qaida militants in south

Yemeni security forces managed Wednesday to capture two militants of the al-Qaida terrorist group at a military checkpoint near the southern port city of Aden, the Defense Ministry said. The two al-Qaida militants were arrested at the Rabat checkpoint near the northern entrance of Aden while they were travelling in a car coming from the neighboring southern province of Lahj, the ministry said in brief text message obtained by Xinhua. Earlier in the day, suspected al-Qaida militants ambushed a Yemeni army post in the turbulent Lahj province, killing two soldiers and injuring three others, according to a government official. Yemen's military launched a large assault against al-Qaida militants there during the past few months, but insurgents still operate in the area and periodically stage armed attacks. On Tuesday, security forces stormed a house in Aden's Mansoura neighborhood and attempted to arrest some wanted terrorists, but the armed group started shooting at the security troops, sparking a short gun battle that left four al-Qaida suspects killed at the scene. The Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot exploited the country's year- long security vacuum during last year's protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and had controlled several southern cities for more than a year before they were driven out by a U.S.- backed army offensive. On June 20, Yemen's military officials announced seizing al- Qaida's last bastion in the country's troubled south during the military offensive.