At least seven Islamist militants were killed near the southern Yemeni city of Loder on Thursday in clashes between government forces and an al Qaeda-linked group, a local official told Reuters. The impoverished country slipped into a state of chaos after the outbreak of protests a little over a year ago that culminated in the ousting of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh under a deal brokered by Yemen's rich Gulf neighbors. A defence ministry news service said in a text message that four of the militants, members of Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), were Somalis. More than 200 people have been killed since government forces stepped up attacks on the militants whom it accused of assaulting a military camp near Loder last week. Exploiting weakened central government control, Islamist insurgents have taken control of a number of cities in the territory which is close to key shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Yemen's new president, Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, is facing challenges from Shiite Muslim rebels in the north and secessionists in the south.