AdenA senior Yemeni military officer was killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded in the southeastern city of Mukalla in an attack blamed on Al Qaida, a security official said on Friday.
The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on senior figures or government institutions in Yemen since a US-backed offensive drove militants linked to Al Qaida from their strongholds in the southern part of the country in June. Brigadier Omar Barasheed, dean of the Command and General Staff College, died in hospital from injuries sustained in the bombing, the official told Reuters.
The brigadier’s bodyguard was killed and a civilian was wounded in the attack. The official, who asked not be named, said all signs indicated Al Qaida was behind the attack, which happened late on Thursday in the capital of Hadramaut province.
Earlier this week, security forces foiled a plot by an Al Qaida-linked cell to carry out attacks in Sana’a and seized 40 belts packed with explosives, highlighting risks posed by militancy in the impoverished Arab state.
The Defence Ministry said seven militants had been detained in the southern town of Jaar, where a suicide bomber killed 45 tribal fighters and threatened further attacks.
Also on Friday, suspected militants attacked a Yemeni army patrol on duty between Hadramaut and the nearby Ma’arib province killing two soldiers, a local official said. The official said two other soldiers were wounded in the attack.
