Yemen’s Qaeda executes two members for ‘spying’

The pair was publicly shot dead in front of residents after accusations against them were read out, witnesses said.

ADEN: Al Qaeda’s Yemen branch, strongly active in the south of the impoverished nation, executed two of its members on Sunday accusing them of spying on its operations, witnesses said.

The pair was accused of planting tracking devices in the vehicles of fellow militants from the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and of providing Yemeni authorities, and the Saudi and US intelligence services, with information.

They were publicly shot dead in front of dozens of residents after the accusations against them were read out, the witnesses said.

The first, identified only by his surname, Yafii, was executed in Jaar, in Abyan province, while Ramzi al-Ariqi, was shot dead in Azzan, in neighbouring Shabwa.

AQAP loyalists control large swathes of both provinces after taking advantage of a decline in central government authority during the anti-government protests that swept the country last year.