Five Yemeni soldiers and one guard, guarding the Balhaf LNG terminal in the Shabwa province of Yemen, were killed yesterday by suspected Al-Qaeda militants.

According to a report by a Yemeni official, the shooters infiltrated a checkpoint at the terminal, killing the guard, and killed five of the soldiers in their sleep, before escaping in a vehicle.

The $4.5bn Balhaf LNG facility, managed jointly by Yemen LNG and Total, was one of the targets for the Al-Qaeda affiliated group in a foiled terror plot last week.

The news follows a spate of increasingly alarming reports of Al-Qaeda connected groups threatening vital Yemeni shipping infrastructure in retaliation for escalating US drone strikes.