Yemeni officials say police kill 3 militants in Aden

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni security forces killed at least three suspected militants in a raid early Tuesday in the southern port city of Aden, officials said.

Three policemen were killed in a shootout when the forces stormed a workshop where car bombs were built, they said. The force arrested two suspected militants and found explosive belts and other weapons.

Later Tuesday, gunmen shot and killed a Muslim cleric in front of his home in Aden, the seventh killing of a cleric in the past three months, officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

Yemen is embroiled in a war between Iran-backed Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and the internationally recognized government, which is allied with a Saudi-led military coalition.

Government forces ostensibly control Aden, but al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates have carried out several attacks.

More than 10,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced in the war.