Al-Qaida's Yemen wing executes three members for "spying"

ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three members of the al-Qaida wing in Yemen, including two Saudis and one Yemeni, were "executed " publicly in south Yemen for collaborating with the Yemeni army and providing information for intelligence agencies, sources and local residents said Sunday.

Al-Qaida militants accused the three of collaborating with the Yemeni army forces and providing intelligence agencies of the United States and Saudi Arabia with information, and shot them dead publicly at dawn in Jaar city of Yemen's southern province of Abyan, a stronghold of the terrorists, a source close to the militants told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The implementation of the penalty came after they had confessed of attaching espionage devices to a number of vehicles of the terrorist group leaders, who were killed early this month in air strikes," the source said.

"The espionage cards played an important role and helped the U. S. drones in determining the positions of the al-Qaida leaders," he added.

Since late January 2011, when protests erupted against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, the militants of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have been working to bolster their presence in the country's remote regions.

The AQAP group has taken control of several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists during the past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.