Sanaa — At least two Somali immigrants were killed and five others injured during an attack by the Yemeni security forces at a checkpoint in the northern Lahaj province, official said.

A senior official in Yemen, who declined his name to be used in the media confirmed that the forces have killed on Sunday two Somali refugees in north of the country when they opened fire on a bus they were traveling in the region.

The wounded Somalis were reportedly taken to the hospital in Lahaj province for treatment and the attack is said to be under investigation by the authorities, sources said.

Army officials said the forces opened fire on the car after they thought the Somalis were going to fight alongside Al-Qaeda in the south of the country.

However, the incident shocked the Somali refugees in Yemen who have been in appalling living conditions since break out of the political unrest in Yemen last year.