Yemen forces kill local al Qaeda leader

YEMEN: Yemen security officials said on Wednesday that government forces had killed a local al Qaeda leader in an overnight shootout and that militants hit back with an ambush that killed two soldiers and wounded four.

Yemen has intensified operations against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) since the group said it was behind a failed Dec. 25 attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner.

The officials said security forces were scouring rugged mountains in a manhunt for 25 militants who fled raids on Tuesday in the southeastern province of Shabwa. They said Abdullah al-Mehdar, identified as the leader of an al Qaeda cell in Shabwa, was killed overnight in a fierce gun battle with security forces surrounding his house.

Four militants were arrested on Tuesday and others escaped, the officials said. One said the Yemeni soldiers might have been ambushed in retaliation for the overnight security operation. Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told Reuters that Yemen needed security assistance from the United States and other allies to help it combat al Qaeda.

But he said the impoverished Arab country also required economic aid to guarantee the country’s long-term success.

“Our security agencies are capable of tackling terrorist threats,” he said, noting that anti-terrorism and coastguard units needed outside support in training, equipment and exchange of intelligence information. “However, a security or military solution is not sufficient.

So the international community has to pay more attention to the economic and development needs of Yemen,” Qirbi said.

Violence has intensified in a separate conflict in the north, where the interior ministry said at least 15 rebels had been killed over the past two days in clashes with pro-government tribesmen and in Yemeni security operations. Sanaa, Reuters