Al Qaeda militants publicly execute Saudi men accused of spying for U.S

Shocking images have been released which show the corpses of unidentified men hanging from a road bridge after they were publicly shot dead in the Al Qaeda-controlled city of Mukalla.

Earlier, images had surfaced online showing two kneeling men blindfolded on a beach as armed militants triumphantly marched around them, carrying banners.

The two 'spies' were later seen hanged in front of a huge crowd, beneath a banner reading: 'The House of Saud directs American planes to bomb the holy warriors.' 

A militant for the group said the men had been accused of infiltrating the jihadist network to provide information connected to the death of Nasir Wahisi, a former senior lieutenant of Osama bin Laden.

He said the men were accused of planting tracking chips in vehicles and clothes used by Al-Qaeda leaders.

The Al Qaeda organisation in Yemen, considered the group's most feared and lethal branch, announced Wahishi's 'martyrdom' yesterday, alongside the deaths of two other jihadists.

The White House confirmed his death one day earlier, calling Wahishi an 'experienced terrorist leader.' 

A Yemeni expert on Islamist groups, Saeed Obaid Jamhi, told the LA Times that the executions were likely seen as a crucial means of retaining the organisation's prestige.

He also predicted that major attacks also would be attempted to avenge Wahishi's death.

The group, which was formed in 2009 following a merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches, yields significant power in some remote areas in southern Yemen, where state authority is almost non-existent.

The area is unstable, with government forces and militant rebel groups, with al Qaeda just one, are clashing on a regular basis.  

(dailymail.co.uk)