Officer close to Yemeni president killed by al-Qaeda after kidnapping
Yemeni President Abdel Rabbo Mansour Hadi
Rudaw network quoted local sources in the Yemeni city of Abyan as saying that residents found the dead body of Col. Abdullah Khader Hussein with gunshot marks near a road intersection leading to al-Wadie region, the birthplace of President Hadi in Abyan.
Earlier news reports said Hussein, a senior officer at Hadi’s sentry, was kidnapped from Lawdar region after kidnappers stopped his car at a checkpoint they had erected at the region’s entrance.
It is the first time al-Qaeda militants kidnap an officer in Abyan since the group became active in the province in February 2016 following the killing of its leader there: Jalal Belaidi, aka Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari in the same month, according to Rudaw.
The report said Al-Qaeda had significantly increased its activities in Lawdar over the past few days after “Security Belt” paramilitary forces mysteriously withdrew from the region.
A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting on Hadi’s side against Iran-backed Houthi rebels and forces loyal to his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, since March 2015. Meanwhile U.S. fighter jets have been regularly bombarding al-Qeda locations in the country.