Yemeni intelligence officer killed in ambush by suspected al-Qaida

Yemen division 2011-10-23 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ADEN, Yemen, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A senior military intelligence officer was killed late Saturday night when suspected al-Qaida gunmen ambushed his convoy in Yemen's restive southern province of Lahj, a Yemeni security official said Sunday.

The al-Qaida militants ambushed the military convoy of Major Kamal Ashwal near the Anad air force base east of Houta, the provincial capital of Lahj, killing him at the scene and injuring two of his bodyguards, the local security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"After killing the intelligence officer, the al-Qaida gunmen clashed with police forces in downtown Lahj and there is a large presence of the terrorists in the suburbs of the city," the official said.

"Al-Qaida gunmen were attempting to seize a number of neighborhoods in Lahj, but they failed," he added.

Elsewhere in neighboring Abyan province, two al-Qaida gunmen were killed in Mudiyah district during armed clashes with pro- government tribesmen, according to local residents.

Security forces and intelligence officials are regularly targeted in the country's southern and eastern provinces as militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP) attempting to expand their foothold and take control over the lawless regions.

Posted in: Abyan Governorate, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaida, Arabian Peninsula, Yemen