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Gunmen assassinate security official in Yemen's Aden

Xinhua, January 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Unidentified gunmen assassinated a senior Yemeni official of Aden's Security Command along with two civilians in the city on Sunday afternoon, a military official told Xinhua.

The unknown gunmen opened heavy gunfire and assassinated Brigadier Taha Subaihi and two civilians, including a woman in Mansourah district of Aden, before fleeing to unknown location, the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses confirmed to Xinhua that "a group of well-armed masked gunmen intercepted the Brigadier's own vehicle and overwhelmed it with bullets from different directions."

Sunday's drive-by shooting is the latest attack in a spate of violence and assassinations against pro-government officials in Aden, Yemen's temporary capital.

Similar drive-by attacks in recent weeks have been blamed on the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State group or al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, but no group has claimed responsibility for the assassination yet.

The turbulent and complicated security situation in Yemen's temporary capital of Aden and neighboring southern provinces of Lahj and Abyan is one of the biggest challenges for the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces operating in Aden.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition had dispatched thousands of soldiers from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sudan and Bahrain into five anti-Houthi southern provinces to support and train local Yemeni security forces in maintaining security. Endit