Three killed in armed bank robbery in west Yemen

At least three people were killed and around half a million U.S. dollars were looted during a bank robbery in Yemen's Red Sea city of al-Hodayda on Wednesday, official Saba news agency reported. "Two security guards of a branch of Agricultural and Cooperative Credit Bank in the western city of al-Hodayda and a customer were shot dead when an armed gang stormed the bank on Wednesday afternoon," Saba quoted a provincial security official as saying. "The robbers looted more than 100 million Yemen rials (about 0. 47 million U.S. dollars) from the bank's safes and made off in two cars before the backup police arrived," said the official. Three other security guards were wounded, as a manhunt has been launched, he said. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but detectives said the incident bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida group. The Yemeni based al-Qaida branch is dubbed by the United States as the most dangerous regional wing in the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is undergoing a political transition that seeks to settle the political and economic challenges and fight against the resurgent al-Qaida branch.