Middle East News
Yemeni tribal chief, rebels killed in clash (Roundup)
Jul 21, 2010, 16:03 GMT
Sana'a, Yemen - Six people, including a tribal chieftain, were killed in an ambush by Shiite rebels, the official Saba news agency reported on Wednesday, but the rebels later denied it was an ambush and reported casualties of their own.
Sheikh Zeidan al-Maqnaee, his son and four bodyguards died instantly after the rebels opened fire on their car late on Tuesday in the Munabbeh district of Saada province on the border with Saudia Arabia, the agency said.
Al-Maqnaee is loyal to the government.
A spokesman for the Houthi group - who take their name after the family of their leaders - said the fatalities came in a clash between members of his rebel group and the tribal chief's bodyguards, and it was not an ambush set by rebel fighters.
'What happened was a clash and not an ambush,' spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said in a statement.
He said three Houthis were also killed and four injured in the fire fight.
Saba quoted the Supreme Security Committee as saying in a statement that the attack 'reflects the Houthis' insistence to undermine efforts to bring peace.'
Tribal sources said on Tuesday that at least 22 people were killed and more than 50 injured in two days of clashes between Houthis rebels and pro-government tribesmen in Saada and neighboring Amman province.
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