Sana’a: Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi has said that “terrorists” were behind the assassination of a security official at the US Embassy in Sana’a.
Hadi, according to Yemeni state television, sent condolences to the family of Qasim Aqlani, who was killed in drive-by shooting by a masked militant on a motorcycle near his house on Thursday.
“Aqlani died as a martyr after terrorists killed him,” Hadi said. “The way he was killed reflects the barbarism and aggression of this outlawed group that is violating Islam and its principles that ban bloodshed.”
The killing, the latest episode in an assassination campaign aimed at top military and security officials, raised concerns the country’s Al Qaida offshoot is growing bolder after suffering defeats this year in a US-Yemeni military offensive.
Washington considers Yemen’s Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula as the world’s most dangerous branch of the terror network. In addition to drone strikes, the US is supporting the Yemeni government’s fight against the group by providing support in terms of logistics and military advisers.
Concerns over security at American embassies in the region are increasing after the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in an attack against a US diplomatic mission in Benghazi last month.
