Gunmen killed at checkpoint in latest attack in Yemeni capital

A soldier stands guard on a military vehicle at a checkpoint in Sanaa, May 11, 2014. Three gunmen were killed after they tried to attack a security checkpoint in the Yemeni capital early on Sunday, the interior ministry said, the second such incident close to the presidential palace in Sanaa in as many days. REUTERS/ Mohamed al-Sayaghi

SANAA (Reuters) - Three gunmen were killed after they tried to attack a security checkpoint in the Yemeni capital early on Sunday, the interior ministry said, the second such incident close to the presidential palace in Sanaa in as many days.

The attack appeared to be retaliation for an army offensive against al Qaeda that has ousted many militants from bastions in south Yemen first seized during mass unrest in 2011, endangering national security and oil-exporting Saudi Arabia next door.