7 Qaeda suspects killed in Southern Yemen, 2 explosions in Sanaa

Two blasts were heard on Thursday near the headquarters of a Yemeni military commander who defected during last year's uprising against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Reuters witness said.   

The witness said he could see a large cloud of dust above the area of the blast in Sanaa, where General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar has his headquarters. It was not clear what caused the explosions and there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Earlier, a local Yemini official reported that a drone strike near the southern Yemeni city of Jaar killed at least seven Al-Qaeda suspects.

"A drone, likely American, fired several rockets at a group of Al-Qaeda members northwest of Jaar killing all of them," the official told AFP.

Also in Yemen, a senior Yemeni intelligence officer was shot in the capital, Sanaa, when a speeding gunman on a motorcycle opened fire Tuesday, the latest episode in an assassination campaign aimed at security officials as government forces wage a crackdown on al-Qaeda suspects.  

Al-Qaida in Yemen has carried out a string of assassinations of top security and military officials and deadly suicide bombings in recent months, raising concerns that al-Qaida militants are bouncing back and getting bolder after suffering defeats this year in a U.S.-Yemeni military offensive.


LBCI/AP