Three 'Qaida' Fighters Killed in Botched Yemen Car Bombing

Three suspected al-Qaida members, among them a Saudi, were killed Sunday when a car bomb they were preparing exploded in Yemen's south, tribal and security sources said.

Two other alleged members of the extremist network were "seriously wounded" and a nearby house was "partially destroyed," a tribal source told Agence France Presse.

The blast took place in the town of Habban in the al-Qaida stronghold of Shabwa, the sources said.

"These are probably al-Qaida members who were preparing to use the car to carry out a criminal attack against the army and security forces," a security official said.

Yemen has seen regular attacks on its security forces usually blamed on Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which remains active in the south and east despite several military operations and U.S. drone strikes against it.