Qaida Suspects Kill 'Gay' Man in Yemen

Suspected al-Qaida gunmen on Thursday shot dead a Yemeni man because they believed he was a homosexual, a security official told Agence France Presse.

"Armed al-Qaida suspects on a motorbike opened fire on 29-year-old Salem Ahmed Hasan in a market in Huta," capital of the southern province of Lahj, the official said, adding the man died immediately.

He said the man was targeted because the attackers thought he was a homosexual.

Another four men have been killed in similar attacks on supposedly "gay" men in Huta this year.

The latest such attack was in July when suspected al-Qaida gunmen shot and wounded a man only days after they killed another in similar circumstances.

Al-Qaida in Yemen is active mainly in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

The army, also backed by U.S. drone attacks, managed to retake control of the country's south, of which large swathes had been seized by al-Qaida militants.

Although weakened, the terror network still carries out hit-and-run attacks against army and police targets.

During their control of areas in southern Yemen, the Islamist militants imposed a strict version of Islamic law on residents, executing or lashing those they accused of various crimes. Those accused of theft had their hands severed.