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One Belarusian military instructor killed, another severely injured by gunmen in Yemen`s capital

Two citizens of Belarus described as military instructors were attacked by gunmen on a motorcycle in Yemen`s capital city of Saana on Tuesday morning, with one of the Belarusians being killed and the other severely injured.

The victims, who were privately employed in Yemen, came under attack while they were leaving Amsterdam Hotel at the center of the city, the press office of the Russian embassy, which represents Belarus in Yemen, told BelaPAN.

Andrey Savinykh, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, said that the ministry was working to establish details of the incident.

According to Reuters, the Belarusian military experts were attached to a presidential security force and had lived at Amsterdam Hotel for about a year. The shooting was reportedly similar to other attacks the Yemeni authorities have blamed on al-Qaeda.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the shooting or why. Citizens of post-Soviet countries are not previously known to have been targets for Yemen`s al-Qaeda branch or other Islamist militant groups.

Violence is common in Yemen, where an interim government is grappling with southern secessionists, al-Qaeda-linked militants and northern Houthi rebels, as well as severe economic problems inherited from veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh.