Yemen: Shebwa governor escapes assassination

The Yemeni news agency Saba said that the governor of Shebwa, the south east of Yemen, survived an assassination attempt yesterday, while his brother was killed in the attack.

An official at the Yemeni ministry of the interior said that Ali Ahmad al-Rassas, the governor of Shebwa, was slightly wounded in his hand after he was shot while spending vacation in al-Sawma' area, in al-Beidai province, and his brother Ahmad al-Rassas was killed. The source indicated that preliminary information indicate that the incident is of criminal nature, rather than political.

On the other hand, a Yemeni official said that one suspect from al-Qaida organization, who was detained in Yemen for blowing up the American warship USS Cole in 2000, provided information to investigators on his contacts in the countries of the region. Muhammad Hamdi al-Ahdal, known as Abu Asem al-Mekki, was on top of the list of those wanted for arrest in Yemen, two years ago. He was arrested after explosions in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The official said that the investigators received information from countries of the region, on contacts with al-Ahdal.