A roadside bomb killed 12 civilians and wounded four in southern Yemen on Monday when a blast targeting a military car hit their vehicle instead, a security source said. Two other people, including a soldier, were killed Monday in separate attacks also in southern Yemen, where the army has launched an offensive against al Qaeda. The deadliest attack was in Daleh province. "The bomb was planted on a road in the Qaataba district of Daleh and hit a civilian vehicle instead," killing 12 civilians, said a security source on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to brief the press.
Along with most of southern Yemen, Daleh is controlled by government forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is allied with a Saudi-led Arab military alliance in a war against Iran-backed Huthi rebels. Yemeni special forces trained by government ally the United Arab Emirates and backed by the United States this month launched a major operation in the southern Shabwa province against Yemen's al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.