Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a Saudi national seen as the second-in-command of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a government website said yesterday.

A car bomb outside the gate of a presidential compound in a southern Yemeni city killed at least 25 people, a health official said, hours after the country’s new president was formally inaugurated and vowed to fight al-Qaida.

Yemeni security forces fired live bullets and tear gas on two pro-democracy demonstrations today, killing two people – including a 15-year-old student – as the government clamps down on a growing protest movement, witnesses said.

A senior Yemeni official today said terrorism cannot be completely ruled out in the explosion of a French supertanker.