Political observers in Yemen are concerned about the deteriorating security situation A senior Yemeni military commander was killed in an ambush by tribal gunmen, believed to have connections with al-Qaeda. The attack, in which two other officers were also killed, and six soldiers were wounded, happened in the ??Wadi Obeida area, east of Sanaa on Saturday.
Military sources told Arabstoday that Brigadier Nasser Mahdi, Chief of staff of Central Military Zone, was leading a military campaign to fix an oil export tube that was bombed by gunmen on Friday for the eighth time. The Yemeni army retaliated by bombarding the area.
Sources said that perpetrators of the attack which killed the military commander are tribal militants who carried out Friday\'s attack on the oil pipeline. Locals said that they are connected to al-Qaeda.
Violent clashes are taking place between the joint forces of the Republican Guard, Maj. Gen. 113, and tribal militants from the area Damahqh in Wadi Obeida Marib, in response to the murder of Brigadier Nasser Mahdi. The clashes have been going on since Saturday afternoon, with casualties on both sides.
Meanwhile, government sources said gunmen were planning to blow up the Marib gas station, which supplies the capital Sanaa and other areas with electricity. Lines transmitting electricity in the valley Obeida Marib, were left exposed to acts of sabotage at the hands of tribal militants.
Elsewhere, a Yemeni policeman was killed and two others were wounded, in Sanaa on Saturday afternoon, after gunmen opened fire on a car carrying a prisoner being taken to hospital for a medical examination.
A senior military source told Arabstoday that the attackers were in two cars and wanted to kill the prisoner, who is accused of murder. They were able to escape after killing and wounding the soldiers who accompanied the prisoner.
In the province of Hodeidah (western Yemen), military sources confirmed that the Commander of Special Forces in the province, survived an attempted assassination when his motorcade was targeted, on Friday evening.
In the meantime, political observers warned against the deteriorating security situation in the country, which would hinder the path of political stability in Yemen.