Tarek al-Dahab, a local leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, was shot dead in an offensive against his stronghold in the southeastern province of al-Bayda, a security official said Thursday.

The top leader of al-Qaida terrorist group in al-Bayda province, about 170 kilometers southeast of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, was killed overnight after his followers opened fire on military vehicles earlier in the day.

The al-Qaida militants killed the leader of a Republican Guard brigade, the head of al-Bayda's election committee along with his son and two soldiers, the local security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Hours after killing the head of election committee, a storming campaign backed by pro-government tribal fighters and special forces of the counter-terrorism units stormed the hideout of al- Dahab and killed him instantly," the official said.

Witnesses also said that dozens of al-Qaida militants imposed a siege on the house of tribal leader Hizam al-Dahab, who participated along with the security forces in the attack against Tarek al-Dahab.

The security situation in al-Manasa area, al-Dahab's native village, some 30 km southeast of al-Bayda's provincial capital city of Rada, is "alarming with a large presence of al-Dahab's followers," according to local residents.

However, a local tribal chief told Xinhua anonymously that " Tarek al-Dahab was killed by his elder brother Hizam in a mosque during family disputes not related to any kind of terrorism or Jihadist arguments."

"Hizam shot down Tarek al-Dahab while he was inside the mosque, " the tribal chief said.

In January, al-Qaida militants commanded by al-Dahab swept into Rada and overran it within hours, marking a significant advance by the extremists towards the capital Sanaa, but he later agreed to quit the city under a tribal mediation.

Since late January 2011, when protests erupted against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, militants of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have been working to bolster their presence in the country's remote regions.

The group has taken control of several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists during the past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.

The AQAP, entrenching itself mainly in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, is on the terrorist list of the United States, which considers it as an increasing threat to its national security.

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