Al-Qaeda Group: We Killed US Teacher in Yemen

Two gunmen on a motorcycle early today shot dead an American teacher working at a language institute in a central Yemeni city, the region's provincial governor said. Hamoud al-Sufi said the teacher was shot in his car in Taez city. He did not have details on who the killers might be, and said an investigation is ongoing. According to MSNBC, the victim has been identified as Joel Shrun, or Sharm, who worked for the Swedish Training Institute, which is supported by the Swedish government and religious groups.

Much of Yemen saw a collapse of central state authority during the yearlong uprising against longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down as president last month. Militants affiliated with al-Qaeda took advantage of the chaos to seize control of towns in nearby provinces. An al-Qaeda-linked group says it killed Shrun for "Christian proselytizing." (More Yemen stories.)