ADEN, Yemen, March 21 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed when a booby-trapped vehicle exploded near a military checkpoint in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa on Thursday, a security official told Xinhua.
The four-wheel-drive vehicle, loaded with large quantities of explosive devices, went off near the military checkpoint in Markha district of Shabwa Province, leaving two people killed at the scene, the source said on condition of anonymity.
No casualties among the soldiers were reported, the source added.
Meanwhile, a government official based in Shabwa told Xinhua by phone that the vehicle belongs to an arms dealer and "exploded by accident, killing only two on board."
According to the government source, the incident was not an attack against the security forces but only "ammunition inside the vehicle that blasted because of the heat and bad storage conditions."
Militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch frequently launch drive-by attacks on security checkpoints in the Yemeni southern provinces as the government forces, backd by the United Arab Emirates, increase military operations on their hideouts in the war-plagued Arab country.
