29 dead in Yemen attacks clashes

(MENAFN- Arab News) SANAA Yemen: Suspected Al-Qaeda militants carried out simultaneous attacks Wednesday on a half-dozen Yemeni security and government offices in a province south of the capital Sanaa setting off clashes that left at least 29 people dead security officials said.

In a statement the Interior Ministry said 14 troops and 15 assailants died in the attacks and ensuing clashes in central Baida province. Other security officials told The Associated Press that at least three civilians also were killed.

The ministry said the attackers besieged the province's security headquarters a special forces camp an intelligence agency office and other government offices using car bombs and gunfire. Troops fired back and thwarted the assailants' attempt to take over the offices it said.

The security officials who spoke to AP said the targets included a government communication office and an Education Ministry administrative building. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Yemeni Shiite rebels dug in their heels Wednesday after rejecting the newly named premier stirring fears of further violence as Al-Qaeda and tribes accused security forces of favouring the insurgents.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi late Tuesday named his chief of staff Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak as the new prime minister after a UN-brokered peace deal agreed on September 21 the day the Houthi rebels overran the capital unopposed.

The accord provided for a rebel withdrawal from Sanaa once a neutral premier was named for their disarmament and for the political transition to be revitalized.