Qaida Beheads 3 Yemenis Accused of Spying

Al-Qaida in Yemen has beheaded three Yemenis in the country's eastern province of Marib, accusing them of "spying" for the government, the ministry of defense said on Tuesday.

The "bodies of two Yemeni nationals ... were found with their heads severed," the ministry, citing a local official, said in a statement posted on its website. It said that officials were looking for the third body.

Video footage of the beheadings confirming "al-Qaida carried out the crime" was also found near the bodies, the statement said.

A tribal source told AFP that the video also contains "confessions" by the three victims who admitted to spying on the militant network and providing information to Yemeni authorities that helped capture and kill al-Qaida operatives.

Al-Qaida has a strong presence in Yemen's lawless eastern desert regions and despite an all-out military offensive that ousted them from their strongholds in Abyan province, the militants maintain a presence in the south.