Unidentified gunmen yesterday killed a Yemeni police officer who worked at the airport in the violence-plagued second city of Aden, security officials said.
Lieutenant colonel Amin Shaef, from the airport’s investigation unit, was leaving his home in the Mansura district when the assailants opened fire before fleeing, the sources said.
There has been a growing number of attacks and assassinations in Aden, the government’s temporary capital, by militants targeting members of the security forces and government officials.
Al Qaeda and the rival Islamic State group (IS) are both present in the city, where militants occupy government buildings and are frequently seen patrolling several districts and intimidating civilians.
“The regular security forces have taken over most of the state institutions, including the airport and the port of Aden, to secure the city,” Aden Governor Aidarus al-Zubaidi said during a joint news conference yesterday with police chief General Shallal Ali Shayae.
Shayae said that security services loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are committed to securing Aden “in stages”, starting with a night-time curfew declared earlier this month.
He vowed that his forces would eliminate all armed anti-government militia in Aden, including Al Qaeda, IS, the Iran-backed Shia Houthi rebels and their allies.
Zubaidi and Shayae survived a car bombing that targeted their convoy in Aden on January 5 and killed two of their guards.