Washington: US President Barack Obama condemned al Qaeda attacks in recent days that killed Yemeni soldiers and offered support for Yemen in battling the Islamist group, the White House said.
Obama`s counterterrorism aide John Brennan called President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen yesterday to relay Obama`s "personal condolences" on the deaths of Yemeni security forces in attacks over the past two days, said the White House.
Brennan said Obama "strongly condemned the brutal attacks, which reflect the group`s clear intent to kill Yemenis who are valiantly seeking to stop al Qaeda`s attempts to carry out terrorist attacks in Yemen as well as in other countries."
Brennan told Saleh that "the United States is determined to stand with the government and people of Yemen in confronting al Qaeda and that President Obama is committed to continuing the provision of security, economic, and development assistance to Yemen."
Al Qaeda militants killed 10 soldiers on Friday in separate ambushes on two military convoys in the restive southern province of Abyan, Yemeni officials said.
In a separate incident yesterday, armed separatists killed two Yemeni soldiers and wounded another in an attack on a military checkpoint in southern Lahij province, a security official said.
PTI
