High-ranking Yemeni government officials escape gun attack

Unknown gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of Aden's governor and the city's chief security on Tuesday, but no casualties were reported, a military official told Xinhua.

"The motorcade of Aden's governor Major General Aidarous Zubaidi and the commander of the city's security came under heavy gunfire in the neighborhood of Mansourah, " the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

The attack occurred after the governor's motorcade tried to cross in the militant-controlled neighborhood Mansourah, the military source said.

The governor escaped the attack, which was the fourth of its kind, according to the local official.

The port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, has been witnessing a state of chaos and lawlessness during the past weeks which resulted in the assassination of Aden's former governor, several high-ranking security officers and judges.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliates of the Islamic State.

The security situation in the country has deteriorated since March when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Endit