At least 26 Yemen government soldiers and 17 Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda were killed on Wednesday in heavy fighting for control of a stadium near the southern city of Zinjibar, officials said. The military setback, following reports that 300 of his soldiers had defected to the opposition, was another blow to President Ali Abdullah Saleh as recovers in Saudi Arabia from injuries sustained in an attack on his palace in early June.
Yemen, the poorest Arab state and a neighbour of the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has been shaken by months of protests against Saleh's three-decade rule, a resurgent wing of al Qaeda and a separatist rebellion in the south. The United States and Saudi Arabia fear that al Qaeda may use the chaos to launch attacks in the region and beyond.
Yemeni officials said the militants seized control of the stadium from government forces, who have been using the facility - built recently to host a regional football tournament - to support troops fighting to dislodge the militants from Zinjibar.
An official said losing the stadium, located near a military base from which government forces had been launching attacks on Zinjibar, exposed a military base that had been used to launch attacks on the militants in Zinjibar. A counter offensive to retake the position was in progress, he said. "The militant control of the field will leave the back of the camp from the east exposed," the official said.
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