Qaida Rocket Attack Kills 3 Yemeni Troops

Al-Qaida militants have killed three soldiers with a rocket in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramawt, a security official said on Sunday.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed on Twitter it "targeted an army vehicle... heading from Shibam to Seyun in Hadramawt, destroying it and killing the three soldiers on board".

The attack using rocket-propelled grenades took place late on Saturday, the security official said.

Al-Qaida is active in southern and eastern Yemen, especially in Hadramawt where the authority of the central government is weak.

AQAP, seen by the United States as the extremist network's deadliest branch, killed 20 soldiers in an attack in Hadramawt last month.

Yemen is a key U.S. ally in the fight against Al-Qaida, allowing Washington to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on its territory.

AQAP was born out of a 2009 merger between its franchises in Al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden's native Saudi Arabia and his ancestral homeland in Yemen.

The group has exploited instability in the impoverished country since a 2011 uprising forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.