Insurgents with suspected links to al-Qaeda have blown up a gas pipeline in Yemen's south-eastern province of Shabwah, local media reported Saturday.
Al-Qaeda had sabotaged the 320-kilometre pipeline in an area located around 100 kilometres east of Shabwah's capital city Ataq, the Yemeni website Mareb Press reported, citing a local source, dpa reported.
The attack was mounted late Friday on the pipeline transporting gas to an export facility, added the source.
It occurred hours after a US drone raid killed four suspected al-Qaeda insurgents in the town of Azzan in Shabwa, reported Mareb Press.
A civilian man and four children were also injured when the drone hit a car carrying the four gunmen, according to the report.
Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, who took office last month, has vowed to fight al-Qaeda, calling it a "national and religious duty."
Militants affiliated to al-Qaeda have strengthened their foothold in Yemen, taking advantage of a year of political turmoil and a weak central government in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.
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