13 Yemen Soldiers Dead In 'Al-Qaeda' Clashes

Smoke billows from a neighborhood in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Security officials and medics said 13 Yemeni soldiers have died in attacks which officials blame on Al-Qaeda.

Six soldiers were reportedly killed on May 31 in an attack on a military checkpoint near the southern town of Zinjibar, where troops are battling alleged Al-Qaeda militants.

Five more soldiers died in a car bomb attack on a convoy carrying reinforcements to the city.

Also on May 31, two soldiers died of wounds sustained in fighting with militants in Zinjibar.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting was reported in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, between forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and members of the powerful Hashid tribe.

Saleh has been facing massive street protests since January demanding that he resign after more than 30 years in power.

The clashes first erupted after Saleh refused for the third time to sign an agreement brokered by Gulf Arab states that would see him step down.

Saleh has been facing massive street protests since January demanding that he resign after more than 30 years in power.

The UN human rights office said on May 31 it had received reports that more than 50 people have been killed in Taiz, the country's second-largest city, since government forces moved to break up a protest camp in the city center on May 29.

In the south of the country, 21 soldiers were reported killed in fighting on May 30 between government forces and radical Islamist fighters who have taken control of the town of Zinjibar.

compiled from agency reports