Gunmen kill Yemeni army officer

Sanaa, July 24 (IANS) An officer of the Yemeni armed forces was shot dead by unidentified gunmen early Thursday in the troubled southern province of Lahj, a security source said.

Major Belal Karo, commander of an army unit in Lahj province, was gunned down as he left his residential building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Unknown gunmen riding a motorbike pursued Major Karo before intercepting him and opening fire on him near his residential building in Lahj," the source said.

A medical source in Lahj province confirmed the incident to Xinhua.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Yemeni military officials blamed militants of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda offshoot for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's south.

The Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, which emerged in January 2009, is considered to be one of the greatest threats to the Yemeni government and neighbouring Saudi Arabia.