Security has been stepped up in Sanaa after several attacks Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead two Yemeni army officers in Sanaa on Tuesday. The officers were gunned down in separate parts of the capital, security officials confirmed. Colonel Fadhl Mohammed Jaber was shot outside his home, and Colonel Saleem al-Gharbani was killed near a Sanaa military facility.
Meanwhile, military officials said that renewed clashes between the army and a tribe affiliated with al-Qaida, in the north-eastern province of Marib have killed at least 11 people, and wounded 18.
Marib has seen a spate of clashes recently, mainly between the army and tribesmen who reportedly maintain ties with al-Qaida. The tribesmen have also attacked oil pipelines and power stations in the province. Two months ago, they blew up the main electricity pylons and sabotaged an oil pipeline, in protest against the death sentence given to a fellow member for killing security agents.
A military source told Arabstoday that forces from brigade 312 were involved in violent clashes with \"vandals,\" in the area of Habab. Heavy weapons, artillery, tank shells and rocket launchers were used by both sides, with the military carrying out air raids. The clashes killed two soldiers and wounded 12. On the other side, 9 tribal militants were killed, with 8 suffering injuries.
Elsewhere, Yemeni security forces have revealed that they have foiled a terrorist plot in Sanaa. It is believed extremists were planning to blow up the car of a senior officer in the Central Security Forces. According to the Interior Ministry, security officials arrested two suspects, who were trying to plant explosives under the car of the officer, near a security camp in Sanaa. The suspects are being questioned.
On Tuesday, Yemeni authorities released the names of the \'al-Qaeda\' members who were killed in Monday\'s American drone raids on Almnash in the Rada\' district. The authorities said Abdul Rauf Naseeb, known as Abu Azzan, and Abdullah Abbad Waili, known as Abu al-Walid were killed in the first raid.
The second raid in the area of ??Wadi Samaon, Hadramout, killed five people. Two of the five are unidentified, but the other three have been named as Saleh Karama Baabad, Hani Salim bin Arifun, and Abdullah Abu Bakr Bawazir.