Suspected Islamic militants on Tuesday ambushed a police patrol in southern Yemen, injuring three policemen, local sources said.
The police vehicle was attacked while driving on a highway leading to Ja'ar city in the southern province of Abyan, the sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Believed to be members of a militant Islamic group, the attackers opened fire on the vehicle and fled into the mountains, the sources said.
Police forces set up checkpoints and sent troops to the area to chase the attackers, witnesses said.
Ja'ar is located nearly 600 kilometres south of the capital Sana'a, and is close to mountains where armed Islamic groups take shelter.
In March, five policemen were injured in a bomb attack against the local government compound in Ja'ar. Officials said Islamic insurgents were behind the attack.