Yemen holds US citizen for suspected al-Qaida ties

On Tuesday, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was in Shabwa for a series of meetings with tribal leaders.

In video of the meeting aired on state TV, Hadi he urged the tribes to unite with the government in the fight against al-Qaida. He also warned them against providing shelter to militants, saying the government "will not tolerate anyone who helps al-Qaida."

The same day, authorities discovered three decapitated bodies that had been dumped in an open-air market in the eastern province of Marib. Local media reported that CDs found next to the bodies showed the men confessing to being government informants against al-Qaida and placing tracking devices on cars that became targets for U.S. drone strikes. One of the men said he worked for a tire repair shop and used to plant chips in militants' vehicles while replacing their tires.

The killings could deal a blow to the government's efforts to build trust with local tribesmen in the fight against al-Qaida.

Washington, which considers Yemen's al-Qaida branch to be the terror network's most dangerous offshoot, has launched dozens of drone attacks targeting the group's leaders.