Aden: Yemen's defence minister narrowly escaped death on Tuesday after his convoy drove over a landmine in the country's south, where the army is fighting militants suspected of links to al Qaeda.
A government official said General Mohammed Nasser Ahmed was not hurt by the blast, which killed two of his guards and wounded four others during a visit to the southern province of Abyan.
The minister had been touring the frontline near Abyan's capital Zinjibar, one of at least three towns that have been seized by militants in past months as protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year wear on.
The official initially said the minister had survived an assassination attempt, but later said he was not targeted in an attack.
While President Ali Abdullah Saleh recovers in neighbouring Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, Islamist militants emboldened by months of upheaval have been contesting control over parts of the south.
At least four militants were killed in artillery fire on Zinjibar by government forces on Tuedsay, residents said.
The United States and Saudi Arabia fear turmoil in impoverished Yemen will give al Qaeda's Yemen-based branch more room to launch attacks in the region and beyond.
Opponents of Saleh accuse him of exaggerating the threat of al Qaeda and even of encouraging militants in order to pressure Riyadh and Washington into backing him.
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