Seventeen Yemeni rustics were killed Thursday in festivities that followed the liquidation of a local al-Qaeda leader by his half-brother in his stronghold southeast of Sanaa, tribal chiefs said.The festivities erupted after Tarek al-Dahab was rubbed out by his half-brother Hizam in the town of al-Masaneh, a family fiefdom in Bayda province, several tribal chiefs said, confirming that the killer and his brother were among the 17 killed in the shootouts.
"Al-Qaeda gunnies fired rockets at the house of Hizam killing him and his brother Majid, as well as their nephew Ahmed," one source said.
Eleven armed rustics were killed when the vehicle transporting them was also targeted, the sources said.
A tribal chief said that Hizam was "pushed by authorities" to kill Dahab who had in January taken over control of the town of Radah, about 130 kilometers southeast of Sanaa, and 30 kilometers from al-Masaneh.
Dahab and his gunnies withdrew from Radah after holding it for nine days, bowing to tribal pressure.