Yemen's Qaida Executes Saudi Members for 'Spying' for U.S.

Al-Qaida in Yemen executed Wednesday two Saudi accused of spying for the United States, a day after the jihadist group confirmed the death of its leader in a U.S. drone strike.

They were accused of planting tracking chips in vehicles and clothes used by al-Qaida leaders, allowing drones to target them, a local official in southeastern Mukalla said.

After their public execution by a firing squad in the al-Qaida-held city, their bodies were tied to poles, the official and witnesses said.

Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington as the most dangerous affiliate of the global jihadist network, was formed in 2009 following a merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches.

AQAP confirmed in an online video dated June 15 the death of its leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who was number two in al-Qaida, along with two other militants in a U.S. drone strike last week.

Two other senior al-Qaida leaders in Yemen -- ideologue Ibrahim al-Rubaish and Nasser al-Ansi, who appeared in a video claiming the January massacre on French magazine Charlie Hebdo -- were killed in similar U.S. strikes in April.