Al-Qaida gunmen shot dead four soldiers in one of the militants’ former south Yemen strongholds as the local governor declared that the country’s ill-equipped police force is incapable of filling the security void left by months of clashes.

Al Qaida gunmen shot four soldiers dead in one of the militants’ former south Yemen strongholds today, officials said, as the local governor declared that the country’s ill-equipped police force is incapable of filling the security void left by months of clashes.