Intelligence official killed by al-Qaida militants in Yemen

Some al-Qaida militants gunned down a director of intelligence branch in Yemen's southeast province of Hadramout on Saturday evening, a provincial security official told Xinhua.

Mohammed Hassan al-Qarazi, director of the political security agency's branch in Al-Shahr town in Hadramout, was shot dead by gunmen of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on Saturday evening," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Al-Qarazi was gunned down near Samoun Football Stadium in Al- Shahr, added the official.

Meanwhile, the AQAP posted an audio tape on the internet on Saturday, urging the Yemeni and Saudi people to revolt against their rulers and establish governments based on the Islamic law.

The Yemen-based AQAP has a strong presence in southern Yemen as the country's southern and eastern provinces witnessed a series of assassinations targeting dozens of senior intelligence officials since 2009.

Last December, Yemen's Interior Ministry said in a statement that it was planning to set up four counter-terrorism units in different provinces, including Hadramout, to curb the activities of resurgent al-Qaida wing.