File photo shows an al-Qaeda militant in Yemen.[/caption]Unknown gunmen have shot and killed a senior Yemeni army officer in the country's southeastern Hadramawt province, officials say.
According to a Yemeni official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday, unknown gunmen killed Colonel Ahmed al-Suhaili while he was heading to work in the city of Seiyun.
Following the attack, the countrys Defense Ministry issued a statement saying that al-Suhaili responded by shooting at the gunmen, injuring one of them before he lost his life.
Yemeni security services have on numerous occasions blamed al-Qaeda militants for deadly attacks, mostly carried out in the southern parts of the country.
In April, five soldiers and a senior local army intelligence officer known as Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Abdelrazzaq were killed in two separate attacks carried out by suspected al-Qaeda militants in Radda district in the southwestern province of al-Bayda and the southern city of Mukalla.
On May 9, unknown gunmen killed a Yemeni military intelligence officer, Mohammed al-Kuby, in his car while he was driving to work in the southern province of Lahj.
On May 8, three senior Yemeni air force pilots were killed after their vehicle was intercepted by two suspected al-Qaeda militants outside the al-Annad base. Two of the pilots were reportedly trainers.
Al-Qaeda militants have carried out a spate of deadly attacks against Yemeni security forces since Dictator Ali Abdullah Salehs successor, President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, came to power in February 2012.
In May 2012, the Yemeni military launched an all-out offensive and retook a string of towns in the southern province of Abyan, where al-Qaeda militants had established a stronghold.
By Press TV
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