US citizen killed in al-Qaeda attack in Yemen

An American teacher was shot dead in Taiz, 270km to the south of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, in an al-Qaeda attack which the Yemeni authorities believe may be in response to army air strikes and arrest operations against the terrorist group. The Governor of Taiz, Hamoud Al-Soufi said that two militants riding a motorcycle shot the American teacher in his car, revealing that the authorities have opened an investigation about the incident. Until reently, Taiz was believed to be free of al-Qaeda activity. This incident comes only two days following the  kidnapping of a Swiss teacher from her house in al-Hudaida in western Yemen. Militants who kidnapped her,  demanded the release of two al-Qaeda detainees in order to set her free. Also on Saturday, two security soldiers and a civil citizen were injured in a clash between security forces and al-Qaeda fighters in the southern city of Aden where the clash resulted in the arrest of one al-Qaeda fighter.