Two soldiers, 16 rebels killed in new Yemen clashes

Two soldiers and 16 rebels were killed in new clashes in Yemen's northern mountains on Friday as a government offensive entered its fourth day, a security official said. The official said fighting had now shifted away from Saada town towards the province's southern border with neighbouring Omran, just 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of the capital Sanaa. The military has deployed warplanes as well as ground troops in a bid to dislodge the rebels, the official added. The new fighting came a day after Saada provincial Governor Hassan Mohammed Manaa vowed that the state of emergency imposed early on Tuesday would be "lifted only when the rebels have been crushed."