Observers Say 119th Brigade May Have Been Targeted Intentionally

A deadly friendly-fire incident in Yemen has killed at least 30 of the county's soldiers, but observers there say it may have been intentional.

The Yemeni Army's 119th Brigade rebelled against the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh (photo courtesy www.kremlin.ru) during the regional uprising now known as the "Arab Spring" earlier this year, in which a protest movement demanded an end to the 34-year regime.

The Associated Press reports the target of the bombing by a government warplane was an abandoned school in southern Abyan province, just east Zinjibar, the provincial capital and scene of intense fighting to secure the area from militants linked to al Qaeda. The bombing reportedly killed at least 30 soldiers, and injured many more. The AP quotes officials who asked to remain anonymous in reporting that after the bombing, militants moved in to kill an unknown number of injured survivors.

The bombing of the abandoned school came just a day after a strike on a two-car convoy by a US drone was reported to have killed three key figures of al Qaeda in Yemen, including two who were American citizens.

FMI: www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ym.html