SHABWA (Debriefer)--Al-Qaeda on Tuesday kidnapped an officer from the security forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government in the southeastern province of Shabwa.
Brig. Gen. Awadh Saleh Al-Ayashi, an officer in the criminal investigation department, and his bodyguards were kidnapped in the area of Khourah in the district of Markhah Al-Suflah in the west and taken to the adjacent province of Bayda, local security sources said.
Al-Qaeda elements attacked the car carrying them while they were on their way for duty in the district of Bayhan, the sources said.
The Shabwani elite forces of the UAE-backed southern transitional council accused the governor of the province of handing five officers, including Al-Ayashi, to Al-Qaeda.
The local government has not commented on the incident.
