Yemen: Suicide car bomber targets top officials in Aden

A suicide car bomber has targeted a convoy carrying the governor and police chief of the southern port city of Aden but the two survived the assassination attempt unharmed, according to Yemeni officials.

The officials say the attack took place early on Friday as Governor Aidarous al- Zubaidi and security chief, Shalal al-Shayaa, were en route to the district of al-Buriqa.

The officials say a guard was wounded and noted unconfirmed reports of civilians killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorised to talk to reporters.

The two Aden officials have been targeted in the past. Their predecessors were killed in suicide bombings by the Islamic State group.

Photographs circulated on social media show the bomber's vehicle on fire.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The port city, the temporary base of Yemen's Saudi-backed government, has seen a wave of bombings and shootings targeting officials and security forces.

Zubaidi's predecessor Jaafar Saad was killed in December in a car bomb claimed by the Islamic State group.

In February suspected al-Qaeda militants opened fire on a convoy carrying Zubaidi and Aden's police chief General Shallal Shayae. Both escaped unharmed.

Zubaidi and Shayae also survived a car bombing that targeted their convoy in Aden on 5 January, killing two of their bodyguards.

The port city, the temporary base of Yemen's Saudi-backed government, has seen a wave of bombings and shootings targeting officials and security forces

Militants have exploited the unrest in Yemen pitting loyalist forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, against rebels in a war that has left more than 6,400 people dead since March 2015.

Pro-government forces last year drove the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents and their allies out of southern provinces, including Aden, but have struggled to assert their authority in areas controlled by jihadists.

With the help of coalition forces, mainly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, loyalists launched an offensive against al-Qaeda in March, pushing the jihadists out of neighbourhoods in Aden and several provincial capitals.