Middle East News
Report: Key al-Qaeda figure in Yemen killed in family dispute
Feb 16, 2012, 7:46 GMT
Sana'a - A leading al-Qaeda operative in Yemen was killed Thursday in a family dispute, in the eastern province of Al Bida, local media reported.
Tariq al-Dahab was shot dead by his half-brother Hazam inside a mosque, said Yemeni news website Mareb Press.
Two companions of Tariq were also killed in the attack, the report added.
No cause was immediately cited for the attack.
Tariq is a relative of al-Qaeda's spiritual leader in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a US airstrike last year.
Last month Tariq, commanding a battalion of insurgents, seized the town of Rada'a, some 150 kilometres south-east of the capital Sana'a, before releasing it again following tribal mediation.
Militants - believed to be affiliated to al-Qaeda - have taken advantage of a year of political turmoil in Yemen to expand their influence in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.
The opposition has accused outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of manipulating the threat of extremists to seek support from the West and extend his stay in power, despite months of protests against him.
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