Clash between Yemeni troops and suspected al-Qaida militants kills 1 soldier, 4 fighters

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's Defense Ministry says a firefight between troops and al-Qaida fighters have killed one soldier and four suspected militants.

The ministry said Sunday the military targeted a house where it believed militants stayed in the southeastern province of Hadramawt. It said five of the fighters were arrested after the overnight clashes that lasted until early Sunday.

Security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, said three soldiers were killed and six were injured. The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

At least 1,200 troops have been sent to Hadramawt over the past days as reinforcement in the offensive against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which the U.S. considers to be the group's most dangerous offshoot.