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Jamal al-Labani, a Yemini-American from Oakland, is shown in a photograph provided by his family, along with daughter Mariah, 2. A cousin, Mohammed Alazzani, said Labani was killed along with a nephew last week in Aden, Yemen, when they came under attack by rebels. He was visiting his wife, daughter and other family members who live in Yemen, the family said. He is shown with daughter Mariah, age 2 and a half. Photo was just provided to us by his cousin, Mohammed Alazzan, in California.(Photo: Labani family)
A Yemeni-American from Northern California was killed in an attack by rebels while visiting family in Yemen last week, a relative said Sunday.
Jamal al-Labani, 45, was walking home from services at a mosque last Tuesday evening when he and a nephew, 14, were struck by shrapnel from mortar fire from rebels attacking the city of Aden, Labani's cousin, Mohammed Alazzani, told USA Today.
He is believed to be the first American killed in the fighting in Yemen.
An Oakland gas station owner, Labani had traveled from his home in California to Yemen with the intention of bringing his pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter back to the United States, Alazzani said. He became trapped in the country when violence shut down airports.
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Alazzani said Labani was making the short walk from the mosque to the home where he was staying when the shelling began.
The deaths and Alazzani's account of events were first reported by the Contra Costa Times newspaper and CNN.
Alazzani said he received word of his cousin's death from relatives who witnessed the attack, Al Jazeera America reported.
"Our cousins were shouting at them to run because the firing began so suddenly. They began running … but they were hit," Alazzani said.
Yemeni-Americans have complained that the U.S. government has abandoned Americans trapped in the Arab country. The U.S. Embassy was closed in February and the State Department evacuated its U.S. personnel and issued a travel warning but has not evacuated other Americans there.
"It's a shame our government here couldn't do anything; we aren't asking for troops," Alazzani said. "It's not a very difficult situation to deal with to evacuate the people. It's just a matter of willingness."
Labani, with dual citizenship, had lived in the United States for 20 years. His wife and young daughter live in Yemen, and he traveled there two months ago to visit them. A memorial service was held over the weekend in Hayward, Calif., Alazzani said.
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A spokeswoman for the State Department said Friday that the United States has had travel advisories for Yemen for a decade and could provide only limited assistance to those trying to flee the violence. It has urged Americans in Yemen to seek secure shelter until they are able to safely depart the country.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations told CNN it is helping his family and other Yemeni-Americans who are still trapped in the conflict.
"All of these other governments, Russia, China, Ethiopia, India ... they have all been evacuating their citizens. So to say that it's impossible for the U.S. to evacuate their citizens is difficult to grasp," CAIR spokeswoman Zahra Billoo told CNN.
Jamal al-Labani, a Yemeni-American, is shown in this undated photo provided by his family. With him is daughter Mariah, 2. Labani was killed last week when he came under mortar fire from attacking rebels while walking from a mosque in Aden, Yemen, according to his cousin, Mohammed Alazzani of Oakland.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Labani family)
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