Suicide bomber kills nine at checkpoint checkpoint

A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into an army checkpoint outside Yemen's southern port city of Aden yesterday, killing at least nine soldiers and wounding 21 others.

The attack, which the government blamed on al-Qa'ida's Yemen-based wing, comes weeks after the army surrounded the coastal city. The military has been trying to stop militants from slipping into Aden after they seized several areas in the neighbouring province of Abyan in recent months and presented a rising challenge to military control.

Unrest in the south has erupted as mass protests seeking to end President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule drag into a sixth month, setting off sporadic clashes across the country. Mr Saleh is convalescing in Riyadh after a bomb attack in his presidential compound in June.

Yesterday's blast comes days after a car bomb killed a British ship surveyor in Aden, which officials said was a targeted attack.