Yemeni forces foil al Qaeda plot, kill 34

Yemeni security forces have killed 34 al Qaeda militants and arrested 17 in foiling a planned series of suicide bomb attacks, a security source said on Thursday.                                           

The incidents took place in Abyan province in the south and in Arhab directorate, north of the capital Sanaa.                                           

"The operation led to the foiling of an al Qaeda plan aiming to hit foreign and local interests and schools, including eight suicide bombers who were preparing explosive belts to carry out the plan," the source told Reuters.                                           

As well as fighting al Qaeda militants, Yemen is battling a Shi'ite rebellion in the north and separatist unrest in the south.