Security forces in Yemeni town of Hota A Yemeni intelligence office has been killed in the southern governorate of Lahj, a day after three Yemeni pilots were assassinated in the same region. Arabstoday has learnt that gunmen opened fire on Mohamed Ahmed el-Kobi, in the town Hota on Wednesday.
Security sources claimed the attack had been carried out by Yemen-based al-Qaeda militants belonging to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Meanwhile, authorities have confirmed that a man has been detained in connection with Tuesday's ambush in with three Yemeni airforce pilots were shot dead.
Suspected al-Qaeda militants targeted the officers as they travelled to a southern airbase jointly used with US forces to launch attacks on the group.
Yemen's Defence Ministry issued a brief statement in which it vowed to arrest others involved in the raid and bring them to trial.
In a related development, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has condemned militants spreading terror in the region and warned armed groups that security authorities would hunt them down.
After a meeting with members of the National Dialogue Conference, President Hadi disclosed that he would travel throughout Yemen to listen to people's concerns.
Hadi's speech focused on security, stability and the economic situation in the country. The Yemeni leader said he was frustrated with increase in armed attacks on members of the security forces, adding that militants had the intention of harming the stability and security of Yemen.
The president called on powerful tribal leaders to work with national authorities in their bid to tackle extremism, stressing that tribal leaders must stop providing shelter and support to members of AQAP.
Around 60 military and security officials have been shot dead in southern and eastern Yemen in the past two years after an Islamist insurgency sprang up.