A Yemeni man who headed a security team at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen was shot dead on his way to work Thursday, according to wire reports.

Qassem Aqlan had worked at the embassy for two decades and was in charge of the investigation into last month's breach of the embassy walls by protesters angered by an American-made anti-Islam video, The Associated Press reports.

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The shooting, Yemeni officials said, bears the hallmarks of past actions by Yemen's al Qaeda offshoot, which is at war with the U.S.-backed Yemeni government.

The shooting comes just a day after House Republicans grilled State Department officials for refusing to provide extra security to the U.S. Consulate in Libya in the run-up to the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Al Qaeda has praised the assault and called it the “best example” for future attacks, according to the AP.







