SANAA, 5 December 2003 — The governor of the southeastern Yemeni province of Shabwa, Ali Ahmad Arrassas, was injured and his brother, an intelligence officer, killed yesterday in a highway ambush.
Police said the governor was traveling to Shabwa from the neighboring province of Al-Baidhaa when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car. They said the governor escaped the apparent assassination bid with arm injuries while his brother, Mersas Ahmad Arrassas, was killed on the spot.
The attack took place near Masuara town on a highway linking Shabwa with Al-Baidhaa, some 170 km south of the capital Sanaa.
Medical sources said the governor was immediately taken to a hospital in Al-Baidhaa for surgery, and then brought to Sanaa on a military helicopter for further medical treatment.
