As many as eight soldiers are reported killed in two separate incidents in southern Yemen.

Arriving on three motorbikes and in two minibuses, a group of armed men attacked a military checkpoint in the Shahara area of Zinjibar (Abyan province) around 4.30am on Friday with machineguns, grenades and RPGs, just as the soldiers finished their dawn prayers.

Conflicting accounts say between two and four soldiers were killed and five or seven injured. Al-Qaeda is suspected.

Four soldiers, including an army major, also died in the Habilayn district of Lahej province after a fight broke out on Thursday – apparently involving members of the Southern Movement. The trouble appears to have started when the military killed Abbas Tanbaj (or Tanbah), described a member of the movement who was wanted by the authorities.

That incident followed a demonstration in Habilayn (reported by the Aden News Agency) which seems to have been boycotted by some prominent figures in the south. The report talks of leadership disputes within the Southern Movement.

A US embassy vehicle was attacked with an explosive device on Wednesday, reportedly while parked outside a pizza restaurant in the upmarket Hadda district of Sanaa. It is unclear exactly what happened (CNN, Fox News, AFP and AP all give slightly differing accounts) but no one was injured and a Jordanian man has been arrested.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 18 Dec 2010