The chief of a Yemeni al Qaeda cell has been killed in clashes with security forces, Yemen's state news agency reported on Wednesday. SABA agency reported the home of the militant, identified by the governor of Yemen's Shabwa province as Abdullah al-Mehdarhad, was surrounded by security forces on Tuesday and that he was killed as a result of an exchange of fire.
Al-Mehdarhad was the leader of an al-Qaeda cell in al-Houta region, in the province of Shabwa, 600km east of Sanaa. Security forces were hunting for the remaining members of the cell, the governor said.
Two Yemeni soldiers were killed in a road ambush in the country's Shabwa province, added the news agency.
