Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's top military commander escaped a presumed American missile strike in southern Yemen Saturday night, according to local residents and security officials, marking the latest of several failed attempts to kill one of Yemen's most-wanted Islamist militants.
Armed Yemeni tribesman stood on heavy machinery Sunday before it dismantled barricades set up during last year's uprising in San'a on orders from the country's new president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.
The unsuccessful strike took place amid growing chaos in the Yemeni armed forces stemming from attempts by newly installed President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to oust family members of the country's former leader from their military commands. The power struggle has grounded the Yemeni air force, and, over the weekend, it led to the closure of the capital's airport amid threats by soldiers loyal to the former strongman, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to attack civilian aircraft.
By Sunday night, San'a's airport had reopened, but the new general appointed to head the air force had not yet taken charge from Gen. Mohammed Saleh, who is the half-brother of the former president. Saleh stalwarts remained in control of the air force base attached to the San'a airport, and the general warned the newly appointed commander, Gen. Rashid al-Janad, from attempting to try to enter.
President Hadi took over late last year as part of an internationally negotiated power transfer agreement that ended Mr. Saleh's more than 30 years in power and established a new coalition government between his former ruling party and a bloc of opposition parties.
His domestic support comes mainly from his promise to support demands from anti-Saleh protesters for deeper reform in government institutions and the armed forces.
Both Washington and Yemen's Arab neighbors back the new leader in large part because of his stated promise to strike hard at the local branch of al Qaeda, which expanded its control over large parts of southern Yemen during last year's political crisis.
Since the start of 2012, the U.S. military and intelligence units fighting the terrorist organization have increased their attacks against Yemeni militants and targets, while Islamists have also upped their battles against Yemeni military positions.
In the past few months, U.S. missiles have killed scores of militants, but no high-level al Qaeda members, according to Yemeni officials.
The Saturday night missile strike, which occurred in a rural pocket of Shebwa province, was different, local security officials said.
Residents of the Usalian district on Saturday had reported seeing Qassim al-Raimi, the third-highest member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a militant who appears on Yemen's and Saudi Arabia's most-wanted lists.
After nightfall Saturday, Mr. Raimi and three followers started driving on a road out of Shebwa toward Marib, residents said. Around 10 p.m., a missile struck the road near their car, but missed the vehicle, according to two local security officials.
Residents and local security officials said that the missile was American.
Yemeni government officials declined to comment on the missile strike. U.S. officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Mr. Raimi has been at large in Yemen since escaping from prison in 2006 after being charged with attempting to assassinate foreign diplomats in San'a, including the U.S. ambassador at the time.
Intelligence officials believe he masterminded a terrorist attack inside Yemen that killed several Spanish tourists and international attacks like the failed U.S. cargo plane bombings in October 2010. He has a brother in custody in Guantanamo Bay and has escaped several assassination attempts in the past three years.
In a succession of decrees published Friday and Saturday, President Hadi shook up the command of the conventional armed forces, including dismissing Mohammed Saleh and Tariq Saleh, the nephew of the former president, as the head of the presidential guard.
However, the decrees didn't change the counterterrorism command ranks or mention the three Saleh relatives considered the closest U.S. counterterrorism allies: the former president's oldest son Ahmed, who is the head of the Republican Guards; or his two nephews Ammar, who is in charge of intelligence, and Yahya, who commands the Central Security Forces, which has a specialized counterterrorism unit.
They remain in their positions as of Sunday, according to Yemeni officials.
