3 killed in attack on Shiite representative to Yemeni national dialogue

A Yemeni Shiite group said Saturday that three bodyguards of its representative to a national reconciliation dialogue were killed in the capital Sanaa.Abdolwahid Abu Ras, the Houthi Shiite representative, was targeted in Nasr street in Sanaa while driving back from the conference venue to his hotel Saturday afternoon.Gunmen opened fire at Ras, killing three of his escorts, the group said in a statement obtained by Xinhua.The group called on security authorities in Sanaa to protect its representatives from such attacks, which it described as "a coward criminal assault aimed at forcing their representatives to withdraw from the national dialogue."Meanwhile, state-run Saba news agency said the leadership of the dialogue condemned the attack and demanded the security services to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.About 565 delegates of political parties, including northern Shiite rebels, southern separatist groups, and civil societies participated in the dialogue, which aims to preserve unity, draft a new constitution and pave the way for parliamentary and presidential elections in February 2014.