Al-Qaida suspects kill anti-terror judge in southern Yemen

Suspected al-Qaida gunmen killed an anti-terror judge in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Monday evening in the latest of a series of assassinations against officials.

Masked assassins believed to be linked to the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch shot Abdul-Hadi Muflhi, a local judge, near his house in Mansourah neighborhood, police said.

Witnesses said Muflhi died on the spot "after receiving several gunshots from two gunmen riding a motorcycle who managed to escape easily."

"The assassination took place just two hours after Aden's security authorities issued strict decisions to ban the movement of motorbikes in the city's streets," a police officer told Xinhua.

Local security sources blamed the al-Qaida terrorist group for the attack though no organization has claimed responsibility.

During the past few days, several military intelligence officers, government officials and anti-terror judges were killed in Aden in similar drive-by shootings claimed later by either al-Qaida or the Islamic State terrorist group.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been mired in chaos since last March when a war broke out between Shiite Houthi rebels, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Endi