Yemen Arrests 4 Qaida Suspects over Officer Killings

Yemeni authorities have arrested four suspected Al-Qaida militants in connection with a spate of assassinations of police and army officers in the restive southeast, a police official said on Tuesday.

The arrests were made in the Hadramawt province town of Ghayl Bawazir on Monday and Tuesday, the official said.

One of those arrested is employed at an oil terminal in the province and is accused of killing a senior army officer last month, the official added.

Residents said that security forces had deployed in force across Ghayl Bawazir.

Al-Qaida has intensified its attacks on the Yemeni security forces, taking advantage of the weakening of central government authority since a popular uprising toppled veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011.