Saudi diplomat assassinated in Yemen

Sana’a, Nov 28 (IANS) A Saudi Arabian military diplomat was Wednesday assassinated by unidentified gunmen in security uniforms in the capital city of Sanaa, Xinhua reported.

“Gunmen in security uniforms intercepted the car of a Saudi military diplomat in a busy street in downtown Sana’a while he was on his way to the Saudi embassy, killing him and his Yemeni bodyguard,” an interior ministry official said.

The gunmen fled the scene before police rushed to investigate the incident.

Officials at the Saudi embassy in Sana’a did not comment on the incident.

Saudi officials in Yemen have been frequently targeted since the kingdom supported the Yemeni government in its war against the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Saudi diplomat Abdullah Mohammed Khalifa al−Khaledi has been held hostage by the AQAP in Yemen for eight months since he was kidnapped from outside his residential building in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden in March.

IANS 2012-11-28 19:22:21