Aden/Sana’a: Suspected Al Qaida militants attacked a post office in Yemen’s southeastern Hadramaut province, killing a policeman and making off with two million riyals (Dh36,731), security officials said on Wednesday.
The policeman was guarding the post office in the town of Hura when attackers killed him late Tuesday and fled with the cash, the officials said.
Robberies in Yemen by Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants are common as the network attempts to finance itself.
Also in Hadramaut, in the city of Qoton, two Al Qaida suspects on a motorbike killed a civilian and wounded one of his relatives, officials said, without elaborating on the motive for the attack.
AQAP is active in the south and east of Yemen, having taken advantage of a collapse of central authority during a 2011 uprising that ousted veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh.
It is considered by Washington as the most dangerous affiliate of the jihadist network for its role in failed attacks against the United States.
In addition to launching regular attacks on the security forces, AQAP has also murdered several people it accused of sorcery or being homosexual, citing Islamic law.
Meanwhile, Yemeni security officials say two days of clashes between Al Houthi rebels and Islamist tribesmen in the country’s north have killed at least 35 fighters on both sides.
The officials say the Al Houthi rebels, who belong to a Shiite sect, have been battling their conservative Sunni rivals from one of Yemen’s largest tribes, backed by a local army unit, in Jouf province since Tuesday.
The two sides are using artillery fire and Katyusha rockets. Jouf is 175 kilometres northeast of the capital, Sana’a, and borders Saudi Arabia.
They officials spoke of condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to media.
Last week’s sweep by the Al Houthis gained control of the northern Amran province near Sana’a. The rebels already control the province of Saada.
