Yemeni official killed ‘by al-Qaeda’

Yemeni soldier stands on a hill overlooking Yemen's capital Sanna A Yemeni official was killed by gunmen believed to be al-Qaeda militants on Sunday, according to local security sources. Officials in al-Bayda province, south of the capital Sanaa, said Sheikh Ali al-Ma'ti was shot by two gunmen riding a motorbike the Rada’ district of al-Bayda, and died on the way to hospital.
Army operations ceased in the province, where al-Qaeda has a strong presence, after a truce was reached with tribal leaders. The army killed and wounded dozens in February in the operations that preceded the agreement.
The news of the official’s death came amid reports that a senior military officer was injured in a separate terrorist attack on Sunday.
A security source told Arab Today that General Abdullah al-Mehdar, a senior military officer, was seriously injured when a sophisticated improvised explosive device (IED) planted underneath his car exploded minutes after he left his house in Sanaa.
The Yemeni Defence Ministry’s website confirmed that "the device exploded when Brigadeer al-Mahdar started his car to go to work at 10 o'clock in the morning Yemen time.”
The incidents are the latest in a series of assassinations believed to have been carried out by al-Qaeda militants that have killed dozens of Yemeni military and police officials over the past two years.
Yemen’s Supreme Military Committee has met to assess the security situation in the country and develop a plan to restore stability in light of the attacks.
The country’s official news agency reported that the meeting, led by the defence and interior ministers, discussed a plan to redeploy security troops in the capital.