Militants Shoot Down Helicopter In Yemen, Eight Dead
Yemeni officials say that militants have shot down an army helicopter, killing all eight people on board including a military commander according to Fox News.
Officials say that the helicopter was show down by a missile over the Al Qaeda stronghold of Wadi Ubida in central Yemen.
“The helicopter was flying from the capital Sanaa to the province of Marib, officials said. The passengers were part of a military force guarding oil installations in the province.”
The Huffington Post reported that among the eight killed on the heicopter was Brigadier General Hussein al-Mashaba, head of Yemen’s force tasked with protecting oil installations.
The report continued on to say that Yemeni tribesmen shot down the army helicopter that killed eight soldiers on Tuesday during a clash over repairs to a main oil pipeline blown up by saboteurs.
The gunman reportedly shot down the helicopter with a rocket.
An official said at the time it was the “second act of sabotage by the same group in 10 days.”
The Huffington Post report continued on to say “the attack interrupted the flow of oil along the 320 kilometre (200 mile) pipeline which links the Safer oilfields to the export terminal in Hodeida province on the coast.”
This attack came at a time the US and British embassies evacuated staff amid reports of a threatened attack by the terrorist group according to Fox News.
The Inquisitr reported earlier Tuesday that fear surrounding a potential terrorist attack from al Qaeda has forced the US to pull non-essential personnel out of Yemen.
As a result of these threats, the US has already shutdown 19 diplomatic posts around the Middle East.
Reuters reported one witness saying the following:
“The helicopter was firing from a low altitude at armed tribesmen accused of blowing up the oil pipeline. The gunmen fired back with a machine gun and it crashed.”
The attack on the yemen helicopter was only one of a few, and killed a total of eight military members.
[Image via Shutterstock/DJ40]
