Gunmen assassinate top army commander in Yemen's Aden

Unidentified gunmen opened fire and assassinated a top army commander in Yemen's port city of Aden Monday, the latest in a series of drive-by shootings against military leaders, a government official told Xinhua.

"Masked attackers riding a motorcycle opened fire from silenced weapons and assassinated General Abd-Raboh Hussein while he was leaving his residential building in Aden's neighborhood of Sheikh Othman," the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"General Abd-Raboh died immediately at the scene after receiving several gunshots in different parts of his body," the source said.

Hussein was the commander of the 15th Infantry Brigade, which is located in the neighboring southern province of Abyan.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but local security sources blamed the al-Qaida terrorist group for the incident.

The port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, has been witnessing a state of chaos and lawlessness during the past months, resulting in the assassinations of Aden's governor, several 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 affiliate of the Islamic State.

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.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians. Endit