Senior Yemeni security official killed in bomb blast

Aden [Yemen], December 3: A senior official of Yemen's security forces was killed in a bomb blast in the country's turbulent southern province of Abyan on Friday, a government official told Xinhua.
"Nader Nisri, the emergency operations commander of the security forces in Abyan, was killed in a blast caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Al Mahfid district of Abyan," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.
The IED blast stroke Nisri's vehicle while he was leading his troops to conduct an emergency security operation in the area, the source said.
He added that "the operation was aimed at a hideout of the al-Qaida terror elements in Al Mahfid, but the explosion aborted it."
Scores of al-Qaida militants frequently use hit-and-run tactics against Yemeni government forces while hiding out in rocky terrains and mountainous areas of Abyan and other neighboring provinces.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula network has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia to expand its presence in various areas of the war-ravaged Arab country.
It has carried out many high-profile attacks against the security forces in the country's southern provinces during the past months.
Source: Xinhua