Brother of AQAP's chief killed in shelling in southern Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- A brother of the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing's top leader Nasir al-Wuhishi was killed when U.S. naval forces in the Gulf of Aden shelled strongholds of the terrorist group in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, a senior army officer said on Thursday.

Abdul-Rahman al-Wuhishi, the younger brother of the chief of Al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was killed in the intensified attacks launched by the U.S. naval forces on Wednesday night against the group's various positions in Bajdar and Badhrous neighborhoods, east of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, the senior army officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

But Nasir al-Wuhishi survived the attacks without any "hurts", the officer added.

The officer also said that dozens of al-Qaida militants were either killed or injured in the ongoing clashes with the Yemeni government forces supported by the U.S. naval forces.

A military intelligence officer confirmed to Xinhua the death of Abdul-Rahman, saying that "the U.S. naval forces were aiming to target the AQAP No.1 leader, who was gathering with other terrorists in a farm in the outskirts of Zinjibar, but the latter survived safely."

Six government troops were killed in the fighting with AQAP militants, according to military sources.

Since late January 2011, when massive protests erupted against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, the AQAP militants have been working to bolster their presence in the country's remote regions.

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