“We can say the war is over, not stopped or in a truce,” Saleh said, referring to the war in the north that has raged on and off since 2004.

The declaration marked a reversal by the Yemeni government, which had complained this week that the northern rebels were not fully complying with a truce agreement.

The country jumped to the forefront of Western security concerns after al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based arm asserted responsibility for an attempted attack on a U.S.-bound plane in December.

– Reuters

GAZA STRIP

Israel retaliates after deadly rocket strike

Israeli aircraft struck at least six targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses said.

Two civilians were wounded in one of three attacks on smuggling tunnels along the border with Egypt. The other targets included two open areas in Khan Younis and a metal foundry near Gaza City.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that six sites had been targeted.