- ADEN: An unidentified assailant threw a grenade into the crowded marketplace of a southern Yemen town on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 11, witnesses and doctors said.
The attacker fled the scene in the town of Al-Habilayn in Lahej province, where central government control has been weakened by months of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule.
International powers fear growing lawlessness in Yemen could embolden Al-Qaeda’s local wing and imperil shipping routes via the Red Sea, through which some 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.
In the province of Abyan, which borders Lahej, Islamist fighters suspected of links to Al-Qaeda have been fighting the Yemeni army for months, seizing several towns and launching almost daily attacks on soldiers and security officials.
The violence has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes in the volatile province, fanning fears they could further destabilize the surrounding area.
