Suicide blast hits Yemens elite military camp

Two militants drove a carpacked with explosives into a Yemeni army base in the south ofthe country on Saturday, killing themselves and a soldier, theDefence Ministry said.The attack targeted barracks of the Republican Guard forcesin the province of al-Bayda at dawn, the ministry said on itswebsite. It blamed al Qaeda for the blast.The explosion was very loud and took place in Dar al-Nasr,which is a military site of the Republican Guard, said awebsite close to Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a general who defectedfrom former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the early days of anuprising against him last year.Residents of the town were frightened by the force of theblast, which was felt more than two kilometres away and damageddozens of neighbouring houses and blew their windows out.Militants linked to al Qaeda have exploited a year ofpolitical upheaval in Yemen to strengthen their foothold there,particularly in the south, which is also home to risingsecessionist sentiment.Gunmen opened fire on a U.S. security team as it trainedYemeni soldiers in the south of the country on Friday, thePentagon and a security official said.The United States and Saudi Arabia, wary of al Qaedaentrenchment in Yemen, backed a Gulf-brokered plan under whichSaleh handed power to his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who wassworn in last month.The Republican Guard, which is commanded by Salehs sonAhmed Ali, was also the target of a suicide bombing that killedat least 26 people on the day of Hadis swearing in.