Qaida Claims Huge Abyan Attack, Military Jet Blast

Al-Qaida on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in Yemen, including an assault on soldiers that left scores dead in the southern province of Abyan and bombing of a military plane in Sanaa.

On March 4, "the mujahedeen carried out a series of operations ... against government forces deployed at the entrances of Zinjibar," capital of Abyan province, said the group's Yemeni branch.

Islamist militants also "blew up a Yemeni airforce military plane in Dulaimi army base that was transporting weapons to Aden and Hadramawt" provinces, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said in a statement.