Yemeni officer escapes alleged Qaeda attack

Source: AFP, 06/02/2011

ADEN, Yemen — A Yemeni intelligence officer escaped an assassination attempt by suspected Al-Qaeda militants in a village in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, a security official said on Sunday.

"Two Al-Qaeda gunmen on a motorbike opened fire first on the car of Commander Saleh Bhadris in Wadi Hadramawt, then on his home," the official said.

No casualties were reported in the attack which took place on Saturday, said the official who added that the gunmen have fled.

With motorbike hit-and-run shootings on the rise, the authorities in October ordered around 2,000 two-wheelers off the streets of Abyan, another southern province, and enforced restrictions on their use in other areas.

Southern Yemen and Hadramawt province have been shaken by violence attributed by the authorities to the secessionist Southern Movement and Al-Qaeda supporters.