ADEN: Al-Qaeda-linked suspects on Wednesday shot dead three air force colonels from the strategic Al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahij, a military official told AFP.
"Gunmen shot dead three pilots with the rank of colonel north of Huta's provincial capital as they were heading towards Al-Anad air base," said the official, adding that the killers were "suspected of belonging to Al-Qaeda."
Officials said last year that Al-Anad air base was being used by US soldiers to train local forces in combating terrorism.
Al-Qaeda network was driven out of most of its strongholds across Yemen's south in an army offensive backed by US drone strikes last year.
At the peak of the offensive in May and June 2012, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, classified by Washington as the global network's deadliest branch published a list of names of Yemeni pilots based at Al-Anad which it vowed to target for conducting air strikes against extremists' hideouts.
In October 2012, the Yemeni army foiled a car bomb attack on Al-Anad targeting American soldiers there, military officials said.
Police and army officers come under frequent attack, with authorities blaming Al-Qaeda for the assaults which are usually carried out by gunmen on unregistered motorbikes.
In a bid to clamp down on the increasing number of such attacks, authorities earlier this year launched a campaign ordering unlicensed bikes off the streets.
Despite being weaker, Al-Qaeda continues to launch hit-and-run attacks on government and civilian targets across Yemen.
Residents said militants linked to the Ansar al-Sharia group have been distributing posters and leaflets in several towns across Lahij and Hadramawt provinces in the southeast, threatening members of the security forces and urging jihad (holy war).
"Ansar al-Sharia are coming," read graffiti scrawled in Huta.
AQAP is led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi who in July 2011 reaffirmed its allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of the worldwide Al-Qaeda network, after US forces in May killed its founder, Osama bin Laden. (AFP)
