“Captain Adel Wali Al Nahmi, the police chief of Dhi Naem, was assassinated and his bodyguard Adnan Al Qobati wounded in an ambush by Al Qaeda members,” the defence ministry said in a statement on its 26sep.net website.
Saba, quoting security sources in Baida, said the gunmen were on four motorcycles and fled after opening fire on the officer’s convoy, Police and army officers come under frequent attack, with authorities blaming Al Qaeda for the assaults.
In a bid to clamp down on an increasing number of attacks using motorbikes, authorities earlier this year launched a campaign ordering unlicenced bikes off the streets.
Al Qaeda took advantage of the weakness of Yemen’s central government during a 2011 uprising against now-ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large swathes of territory across south and east Yemen. Yemen last month suspended a military operation against Al Qaeda-linked militants in Al Manaseh while tribal leaders tried to secure the release of the three hostages.
The army had begun an offensive, in which about 8,000 soldiers were taking part, after the militants rejected demands to release them.
An Austrian man taken hostage in Yemen in December has appeared in a video posted on YouTube, saying he would be killed if ransom money was not paid to a Yemeni tribe within a week.
