Suspected al-Qaida gunmen kill police officer in southern Yemen

Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 22:42:22|Editor: huaxia

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- An officer of Yemen's police forces was killed by suspected al-Qaida gunmen in the country's southern province of Abyan on Saturday, a government official told Xinhua.

"Masked gunmen suspected of being al-Qaida members opened fire and killed a police officer in Lawdar district, east of Abyan," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

He confirmed that the police officer named as Saleem Marmi was killed while he was passing through a main street in Lawdar.

The assailants escaped immediately to unknown locations after raining the police officer's body with a barrage of bullets, according to the official.

A statement released by the police department in Abyan's province blamed the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch of assassinating their officer, but gave no details.

Sporadic armed attacks are targeting the military checkpoints as well as the police officers of the pro-government forces stationed in Abyan's areas.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula network, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country. Enditem

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