Al Qaeda offers reward for killing US ambassador in Yemen

SANAA // Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen has announced that it will pay tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who kills the US ambassador in Sanaa or an American soldier in the country.

An audio produced by the group's media arm, the Al Malahem Foundation, and posted on militant websites on Saturday said it offered three kilograms of gold, worth US$160,000 (Dh587,000), for killing the ambassador. The group said it will pay 5 million Yemeni riyals (Dh83,000) to anyone who kills a US soldier inside Yemen.

It did not say how the bounty could be collected, but said the offer is valid for six months and were set to "inspire and encourage our Muslim nation for jihad," the statement said.

The offers follow reports that a US drone strike has killed three suspected Al Qaeda militants in the central Yemen province of Al Bayda, in the fourth such attack in a week.

The unmanned plane fired missiles at a vehicle in the area of Rada, late on Saturday.

Among those who died was prominent local militant Saleh Mohammed Al Ameri, two other militants were killed and two were wounded.

On Friday, a US drone strike killed two suspected members of Al Qaeda in the town of Shehr in the eastern province of Hadramawt.

* With additional reports from the Associated Press