Yemeni bystander killed in attempt on traffic chief's life

Security experts say al-Qaeda has stepped up efforts to recruit Yemeni teenagers Sanaa – Ali Rabea Yemeni authorities believe that an explosion in the al-Bayda governorate, south of Sanaa, in which a civilian was killed on Sunday was carried out by al-Qaeda, as part of its plot to target the local traffic chief. Meanwhile, A Yemeni government official has claimed that over 50 percent of al-Qaeda militants in the country are "children no older than 18."
Local and security sources said that a man had been killed in a blast caused by an explosive package which had been planted on the route taken by the province's traffic chief, Colonel Yehia al-Qudaimi.
A local source told Arabstoday that the package exploded seconds after al-Qudaimi's car had passed the scene, killing a bystander.
Meanwhile, a Yemeni official told reporters on Sunday that over 50 percent of al-Qaeda's militants are "no older than 18."
Adel Dabwan, the general manager of social defence at the Ministry of Social Affairs, said: "Child recruits have fought alongside al-Qaeda for the past two years in its battles with government forces in the southern province of Abyan."
He added that 50 percent of Yemeni children in the areas where there had been fighting were subjected to scenes of violence, some of whom were shown their relatives being killed.
He claimed that 77 percent of the recruits are "vulnerable" and going to through "difficult mental crises."
Over the past few years, al-Qaeda has been working to attract dozens of Yemeni teenagers. In 2011, the group took over parts of southern Yemen, which they declared Islamic principalities, until the Yemeni army expelled the militants from the area in mid-2012 in a large-scale military campaign backed by tribal pro-government militias known as the Popular Committees.