Yemen intelligence officer gunned down in Sana’a

Sana’a: Gunmen shot dead a Yemeni intelligence officer outside his Sana’a home on Thursday, a police official said.

The unidentified assailants in a vehicle “opened fire at Colonel Abdul Rahman Al Shami, killing him as he was leaving his house” in central Sana’a, the source said, adding that the gunmen sped off.

The attack came two days after Yemeni security forces foiled an attempt by some 300 Al Qaida inmates to escape in a mutiny at their intelligence-run Sana’a prison.

Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has intensified its attacks on security forces in Yemen, mainly in its lawless southern and eastern provinces where jihadist groups are active.

The Islamist network has taken advantage of the weakening of the Sana’a central government since a popular uprising that toppled president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011.