The killing of a local Al-Qaeda leader by his half brother sparked vicious tribal infighting in his stronghold southeast of Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Thursday which left 17 people dead, tribal chiefs said. The clashes erupted after Tarek al-Dahab was shot dead by his half-brother Hizam in the town of Al-Masaneh, a family fiefdom in Bayda province, several tribal chiefs said, adding that the killer and his brother were among the 17 killed in the gunfights. “Al-Qaeda gunmen fired rockets at the house of Hizam killing him and his brother Majid, as well as their nephew Ahmed,” one chief said. Eleven armed tribesmen were killed when the vehicle transporting them was also targeted, the sources said.
A tribal chief said that Hizam was “pushed by authorities” to kill Dahab who had in January taken over control of the town of Radah, about 130 kilometres (85 miles) southeast of Sanaa, and 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Al-Masaneh.