Qaeda-linked militants kill US teacher in Yemen

Motorcycle-riding gunmen linked to al-Qaeda shot and killed an American teacher

Motorcycle-riding gunmen linked to al-Qaeda shot and killed an American teacher in the Yemeni city of Taiz on Sunday for Christian proselytising,and Yemeni officials said government forces killed up to 14 militants in clashes and artillery attacks on their strongholds.

The attacks underscore the challenges facing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who took office last month after a year of massive protests against his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh.

A police source in Taiz said a gunman riding on the motorcycle driven by an accomplice shot a US English language teacher who was also deputy director of a language school,the Swedish Institute.

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Officials from the institute identified the victim as Joel Shrun and said he was born in 1983.

The gunmen,who escaped after the attack,were believed to be linked to al-Qaeda,the police source said. A group affiliated with the militant network claimed responsibility.

This operation comes as a response to the campaign of Christian proselytising that the West has launched against Muslims,an unidentified person said in a text message to journalists,claiming responsibility on behalf of the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law).

Also on Sunday,a government warplane bombed Islamist militants in the southern city of Jaar,causing people to flee their homes,killing 14 militants. Ansar al-Sharia captured Jaar in Abyan Province in March last year after the outbreak of protests in the country.

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