Local al-Qaida leader killed in eastern Yemen

January 13, 2010

Yemeni local al-Qaida leader Abdullah Mehdar has been killed in a raid of his home in the Shabwah province. Four more men were arrested at the alleged al-Houta-area cell commander's house while several more escaped.

Shabwah Governor Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi told journalists that security forces had entered the Mehdar house and killed him on site. Abdullah Mehdar was added to Yemen's "List of the most wanted" by the Yemeni Interior Ministry earlier today.

Military annalists say that other commanders of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula may be hiding in Shabwah. The group are the suspected perpetrators of the failed bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253.