Gunmen attack kills 5 soldiers in Yemeni oil field

Aden [Yemen], February 17 (ANI/Xinhua): At least five Yemeni government soldiers were killed Wednesday in an attack launched by unknown gunmen against an oil field in the country's oil-rich province of Marib, a security official told Xinhua.
"The main gate of the state-owned Safer oil field was targeted by a group of gunmen who opened a barrage of gunshots on the facility," said a local security official, who asked to remain anonymous.
He confirmed that the attack killed five soldiers who were guarding the oil firm in the government-controlled province of Marib.
Security units of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government were deployed after the attack to secure the oil facilities of Safer, the Yemeni official said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the local government authorities have not commented on the incident so far.
Large areas in Marib are witnessing non-stop battles between government forces and the Houthis who are attempting to capture the strategic province of Marib that hosts the largest oil and gas fields in war-ravaged Yemen.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. (ANI/Xinhua)