Militants kill 7 Yemen security officials in ambush

ADEN, Yemen, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Suspected al Qaeda militants killed seven Yemeni security officials, including three senior officers, in an ambush near the Saudi border on Tuesday, a local government official said.

"It is believed that elements linked to al Qaeda were behind the operation as they are active in the area in which the attack took place," the official told Reuters.

The attack took place as the security officials were returning from a visit to a Yemeni post on the Saudi border, another official said.

Western countries and Saudi Arabia fear that al Qaeda will gain momentum from an insurrection by Shi'ite rebels in north Yemen and separatist sentiment in the south.

Al Qaeda said earlier this year that its Saudi and Yemeni branches had merged into Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to widen its attacks to destabilise the region's Western-backed governments.

Riyadh says many wanted Saudi militants are in Yemen. One returned in August, pretending to have given up militancy but then tried to assassinate Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

Analysts say central government control is in danger of unravelling in Yemen, a mountainous country of 23 million that is regarded as one of the world's poorest. (Reporting by Mohamed Mokhashef; writing by Firouz Sedarat; editing by David Stamp)