An al-Qaida car bomb attack on a military patrol in Yemen was thwarted when soldiers fired on the car and blew it up prematurely, government officials said.
An unidentified government source told the national SABA news agency two of the car's male occupants were killed Saturday, while an unreported number of others fled.
The news came on the heels of several events involving al-Qaida in the country Friday and Saturday, CNN said.
The Ministry of Interior announced an expatriate suspected of funding the Islamic extremist group had been arrested at the international airport
Friday.
The same day, the government posted a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of eight suspected members of al-Qaida.
Saudi Arabia's official Saudi Press Agency also reported a wanted Yemeni member of al-Qaida surrendered Friday to Saudi authorities. The man was a former detainee at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who returned to al-Qaida membership after he was freed, the report said.
Yemen's security officials estimate there are as many as 300 al-Qaida members in the country, CNN said.