Tribal sheikh shot dead by gunmen in eastern Yemen
- World
- Published Date: 12:00 | 22 November 2017
- Modified Date: 11:49 | 23 November 2017
A tribal sheikh was assassinated late Wednesday in the city of Shibam in Yemen's eastern Hadhramaut province, according to a senior security source.
"Unknown gunmen opened fire on Sheikh Abdullah bin Amer al-Kathiri in Shibam's Baheira district," the security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.
The source added that al-Kathiri, a prominent member of the Al-Kathiri tribe, had been killed immediately.
The incident came less than 24 hours after the assassination of Omar Saleh, a government communications director, in Hadhramaut's city of Al-Qutn.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for either attack.
The two assassinations also come two days after a military officer was shot dead in the same province.
Since 2015, the Al-Qaeda terrorist group has maintained an active presence in Al-Qutn.
Yemen has remained locked in a devastating civil war since Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.