ADEN // The governor and police chief of Aden survived an attempted assassination when a suicide car bomber struck their convoy on Friday.
Aden police said an explosives-laden bus drove into the convoy of governor Aidarous Al Zabidi and Brig Shallal Shaei at around 9.30am near Al Inma residential city in Al Boraiqa district.
“Only one soldier was injured and some cars were damaged, as the terrorists exploded the car at the back of the convoy and not the middle, so the governor and the police chief managed to survive,” said police spokesman Abdu Rahman Al Naqeeb.
Mr Al Zabidi was travelling to Al Boraiqa port to receive electricity generators provided by the UAE to relieve the power shortage in Aden.
Friday’s attack was the fourth attempt on the governor’s life since he took office in December last year. His predecessor, Ga’afar Mohammed Sa’ad, was killed earlier that month in a car bombing claimed by ISIL.
On May 1, a car bomber struck a convoy carrying Mr Al Zabidi and Brig Shaei as they left a security meeting at the Aden headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government against Houthi rebels. A separate bomb attack on Brig Shaei at his home a few days earlier injured two of his guards.
The governor and police chief escaped unharmed once again when suspected Al Qaeda militants opened fire on their convoy in February.
They also survived a car bombing that targeted their convoy on January 5. Two of their bodyguards were killed in that attack.
There have been no claims of responsibility for the attacks on Mr Al Zabidi but Mr Al Naqeeb said the governor was being targeted because he had been trying to drive militants out of Aden since he took office.
A few hours before the attack on Friday, Yemeni security forces stormed militant dens in Al Mansoura district and arrested several people wanted by the authorities, Mr Al Naqeeb said.
“The security forces arrested seven people with explosive devices and bombs. The investigation will begin soon,” he said.
Pro-government forces and Emirati troops drove terrorist groups out of Al Mansoura in March, but some ISIL and Al Qaeda fighters have managed to remain in hiding in the area.
Fighters from the extremist groups started to appear in Aden after it was liberated from the Houthis in July last year. Both groups have claimed the killings of a number of officials since then.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
