Pro-government tribal chief killed in southern Yemen

Source - Xinhua | English.news.cn

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A pro-government tribal chief was killed by unknown gunmen in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Thursday, a security official told Xinhua.

Four masked gunmen shot dead the elderly pro-government tribal chief, Abdulsalam Zabra, in the suburbs of Mahfad town in Abyan, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"The pro-government tribal leader, who escaped two previous assassination attempts in Abyan, was seriously injured and died after he was sent to hospital," the security source said.

"Residents in the area denounced the assassination incident, for which they hold the al-Qaida militants responsible," he added.

Meanwhile, a military source told Xinhua anonymously that " scores of al-Qaida militants are still fighting with the government troops which intend to clear the terrorist group from mountainous areas in Abyan."

In January 2009, al-Qaida affiliates in Saudi Arabia and Yemen officially merged and formed Al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP). The group, mainly entrenching itself in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, is on the terrorist list of the United States, which considers it as an increasing threat to its national security.

The AQAP underscores the challenges faced by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who won support from major Yemeni political forces, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Hadi is tasked with restoring security and stability to Yemen and putting an end to the growing influence of al-Qaida that threatens daily oil shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.