Six soldiers killed in Yemen clash

Gunmen killed six soldiers and wounded a seventh in central Yemen today, a security official said.

Elsewhere, activists claimed police clashed with protesters in the southern city of Taiz, injuring 15 during a rally calling for the ejection of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The official said the soldiers were attacked at a checkpoint in the town of Radda in Bayda province, and the assailants then fled.

Activist Ghazi al-Samai says police in Taiz fired rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas at the protesters who had chained three government offices there as part of a civil disobedience campaign meant to press Mr Saleh to step down.