Military pilot shot dead in southern Yemen
A security official says suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants have fatally shot a Yemeni military pilot in the southwestern province of Lahij.
“Gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at air force Colonel Mahmoud al-Naqib, killing him instantly,” the official, requesting anonymity, said on Friday.
The official added that the attack was carried out by militants “suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda,” and the assailants sped off after the act of terror.
On Thursday, al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia terrorists launched an attack against the camp of Yemen’s 19th Infantry Brigade in the town of Beihan, and took full control of the government army base. Eight soldiers and four al-Qaeda militants were killed in the process.
A local official said the militants took “30 tanks, 90 military vehicles, 25 armored vehicles and 28 artillery pieces.”
Yemeni government forces handed over their remaining arms to local tribesmen on Friday, and withdrew from Beihan.
Over the past months, al-Qaeda militants have frequently carried out attacks on Yemen’s security forces. The militants have been also engaged in battle with the Shia Ansarullah fighters.
The central government in Sana’a has so far failed in efforts to rid the country of the threat the terrorists pose.
Ansarullah fighters, who played a major role in ousting Yemen’s former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, have intervened to fill the vacuum and have driven al-Qaeda militants out of many areas in the country.
Ali al-Emad, an Ansarullah leader, recently said Saudi Arabia supports armed al-Qaeda militants in order to control oil and service centers in the provinces of Marib and Hadhramaut.
He added that Riyadh seeks to prevent changes in Yemen for fear of possible impacts on the ongoing policies pertaining to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
MP/HSN/SS
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