Assassination attempt on Yemeni security official kills six

Lahej province security chief is said to have survived

The scene of the attack on a convoy in which the Lahej governorate's director of security was travelling in the Khor Maksar district of Aden, Yemen. Photo: Twitter @khaled_alsenami

An explosion has rocked Yemen’s de facto capital Aden in an attack on a convoy belonging to the Lahej province’s head of security on Wednesday, killing four security guards and two citizens, a government official said.

Maj Gen Saleh Al Sayyed survived the attempt on his life.

Yemen‘s Information Minister Muammar Al Eryani said one of the civilians killed was a woman travelling on a bus and that seven were wounded.

Maj Gen Al Sayyed’s convoy was travelling on a busy road near an educational institute in Khor Maksar when the attack took place.

Warring sides in Yemen, now in its eighth year of conflict, have been largely upholding a UN-brokered truce since April 1, which has been renewed for another two months in June.

Although breaches have been reported, the UN said there has been a significant reduction in violence so far.

The war in Yemen broke out in 2015 after the Iran-backed Houthis took over the capital Sanaa, prompting the government to call on Saudi Arabia and other neighbouring countries for support.

Mr Al Eryani said Wednesday’s attack threatened what the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has called a “fragile” truce.

“Escalation of terrorist acts during truce confirms co-ordination between Houthi militia, Al Qaeda and ISIS to mess up and destabilise security and stability in Aden and liberated areas,” he wrote on Twitter.

The road on which the attack took place is usually busy during the day with civilian traffic.

No group immediately took responsibility for the attack, even during a televised message by Houthi leader Abdelmalik Al Houthi.

In an apparent video message after the attempted assassination, Maj Gen Al Sayyed said: “We are not backing down, no matter what the cost."

The National could not verify the authenticity of the video that was shared on social media on Wednesday evening.