Qaida Gunmen Kidnap, Kill Yemen Intelligence Officer

Suspected al-Qaida gunmen killed a Yemeni intelligence officer by cutting his throat after kidnapping him at Mukalla, capital of the southeastern Hadramawt province, a police official told Agence France Presse.

"Commander Faraj Saeed al-Odsani was snatched (Wednesday) afternoon from a road near Mukalla airport by al-Qaida gunmen who drove him towards the nearby province of Shabwa," an al-Qaida stronghold, the official said.

Security forces chased the kidnappers and traded gunfire as they fled, said the official, who added that a policeman was wounded and the extremists' car was damaged in the exchanges.

"The al-Qaida militants escaped into nearby farms while the commander was found with his throat cut in the car, which they abandoned," he said.

A military official confirmed to AFP that "al-Qaida militants" had killed a kidnapped intelligence officer by cutting his throat.

The Islamists have exploited the weakening central government in Sanaa to strengthen their presence in Yemen, launching deadly attacks against security forces especially across the restive south and southeast.

The United States says the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is the most active branch of the global extremist network.