Yemen al-Qaida leader killed by brother - United Press International

SANAA, Yemen, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen was fatally shot in a mosque by his brother, who was then killed in a retaliatory attack, witnesses said.

Tarek al Dhaheb was sitting with followers Wednesday night when his elder brother Hezam opened fire, killing him and two others, in the province of al Bayda, about 130 miles southeast of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, a senior member of al Dhaheb's tribe told Gulf News by telephone.

"Both brothers embrace different ideologies; one is a member of al-Qaida, while the other is a member of the party of Ali Abdullah Saleh [the outgoing Yemeni president]," the tribe member said.

A local journalist told Gulf News many people died -- neither side would say how many -- in heavy fighting between followers of the dead brothers.

Hezam, the tribe member said, had been armed by the government "to fight his brother Tarek, who joined al-Qaida militants in Abyan."

In retaliation for the death of their leader, al-Qaida militants, led by two brothers of Tarek, clashed with Hezam, who took shelter in a local fort. The militants besieged and heavily bombarded the fort, killing Hezam.

The fighting was unrelated to the deaths hours earlier of five election committee workers in the province of al Bayda, the tribe member told Gulf News.

Gulf News also reported local sources said a soldier was killed and five others wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a truck near a military checkpoint in the province of Mareb, east of the capital.