The body of a Yemeni army officer was found in the Khanfar district of Abyan province yesterday, "close to the site of the army unit in which he served," according to a local official. He had been shot.

In a similar incident on Thursday, also in Abyan province, an intelligence officer was shot dead – reportedly by two men on a motorcycle.

Three weeks ago, a former intelligence director for Abyan province was shot dead in the same area as he left a mosque.

So far, it is unclear whether these attacks are the work of al-Qaeda, southern separatists, or a combination of both. Four men have been arrested in connection with Thursday's killing. The authorities say two of them are linked to al-Qaeda (a claim that has been made rather too freely in some previous cases), while the other two are described as "outlaw elements" – a term sometimes used when referring to separatists.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 4 July 2010.