Yemeni intelligence officer killed, general escapes in ambushes
ADEN Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:13pm EST
(Reuters) - A senior Yemeni intelligence officer was shot dead on Monday by
suspected al-Qaeda militants and an army general escaped a separate ambush
in eastern Yemen, security sources said.
The intelligence officer, Colonel Nasser Ahmed, was targeted as he was
driving in the southern city of al-Bayda, the sources told Reuters.
In a separate attack, suspected al-Qaeda militants planted bombs in a road
on which General Abdulrahman Al Hulaili's convoy was traveling near al-Qatan
in eastern Hadramout province, security sources and local officials said.
The attackers also opened fire on the convoy. Three of Hulaili's bodyguards
were wounded but the general, the head of the First Military Region, was
unharmed, the sources said.
The al Qaeda affiliate Ansar al-Shariah claimed responsibility for the two
attacks on the group's Twitter account.
Authorities have not yet identified the attackers but said the ambushes
mirrored scores of previous attacks blamed on al Qaeda. Those attacks killed
more than 200 army officers in different areas of Yemen in the past three
years.
Yemen has been in turmoil since 2011 pro-democracy protests forced
long-ruling President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
(Reporting by Mohamed Mokhashaf; Writing by Amena Bakr; Editing by Sami
Aboudi, Larry King)
Received on Tue Dec 30 2014 - 12:27:09 EST