Yemeni forces kill 6 al-Qaida-linked militants

SANAA, Yemen - Yemeni soldiers killed six al Qaeda-linked fighters in a southern city on Saturday, a security official said, raising doubts about the government's claim to have retaken full control of the area after months of fighting.

The city of Zinjibar, which is the capital of Abyan province, was seized in May by Islamic militants taking advantage of the turmoil surrounding the popular uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to expand their reach beyond Yemen's remote hinterlands. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in particular, has used Yemen as a staging ground for attempts to strike U.S. targets.

Islamic militants are still holding ground in the east of the city, said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters. Six soldiers were wounded in the fighting, he said.

The months of violence there forced more than 100,000 residents of Zinjibar to flee to neighboring provinces, with some seeking refuge in schools.

It is one of several places in the south seized by the militants during the spiraling unrest, which began in February with protests calling for Saleh's ouster after 33 years ruling the Arab world's poorest country.

Saleh's critics accuse him of allowing the militants to take over the cities to support his argument that without him in power al Qaeda would take control of the country.

The United States views al Qaeda's branch in Yemen as the terror network's most dangerous and has carried out airstrikes against al Qaeda targets there.

Violence continued to shake Yemen's second-largest city, Taiz, on Saturday as anti-government tribesmen clashed with members of Saleh's Republican Guards. No injuries were reported.

Troops from the Republican Guard, which is led by Saleh's son and is a pillar of his rule, had been shelling neighborhoods in Taiz for two days in the past week.

Taiz, a hotbed of the opposition to Saleh, has been particularly violent recently, with government troops regularly clashing with soldiers who have defected and sided with the protesters.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement Saturday saying Washington was "deeply troubled by reports of attacks against civilians in the city of Taiz" and calling on all sides to exercise maximum restraint.

"If President Saleh cares about Yemen's future and the well-being of the Yemeni people, he must immediately initiate a full transfer of power that allows early presidential elections to be held," the statement said.

Saleh has repeatedly refused to do so, balking several times at signing a proposal by a bloc of powerful Gulf nations that would grant him immunity from prosecution if he handed power to his vice president.

Anti-government protesters are calling for Saleh to face trial for the bloody crackdown on protesters, which has killed hundreds and wounded thousands.

In the capital, Sanaa, U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar met Yemen's vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, on Saturday to push for a transition of power. He also visited a field hospital and met with anti-Saleh protesters.

The U.N. said Benomar's weeklong visit to Yemen was intended to encourage the Gulf-backed proposal, which the Security Council has endorsed.