A Saudi diplomat kidnapped by al-Qaeda militant in Yemen's southern city of Aden last month is safe and likely to be released soon, AFP quoted Tuesday (April 24th) a tribal chief as saying.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula abducted Abdullah al-Khalidi, Saudi Arabia's deputy consul in Aden, on March 28th in a bid to secure the release of prisoners and collect a ransom.

"Negotiations are ongoing and should result […] in [Khalidi's] release in less than a week," Tariq al-Fadhli, a tribal chief and former jihadist, told AFP.

Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for Khalidi's abduction in a phone call to Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen in April. He is the third Saudi national to be kidnapped in Yemen in three years.