Aden Governor, Seven Guards Killed In RPG Attack, ISIS Claims Responsibility (BREAKING)

A convoy of the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed Yemeni government was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) in the port city of Aden Sunday, which killed Jaafar Mohammed Saad, the governor of the Aden province, and his six guards.

The attack reportedly took place in the Tawahi district of Aden when Saad's convoy was moving towards his office.

"Major General Jafar Mohammed Saad, the newly appointed governor of Aden, was killed in a bomb attack targeted his motorcade while he was passing through the Tawahi district in Aden heading toward his workplace at around 8:30 a.m. (local time) Sunday," a Yemeni military official told Xinhua news agency.

Daesh, also referred as Islamic State/ISIS/ISIL, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, according to Al Arabiya.

The assassination of Aden's governor comes nearly two months after Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his cabinet were targeted in an Islamic State-inspired attack on a hotel in Aden.

"There is a security vacuum in Aden. Al-Qaeda and other militias are running freely. So it's very instable and therefore no surprise that the governor was targeted after we've seen several assassinations over the past two months," local political analyst Hisham al-Omeisy said, according to Gulf Daily News.

The Houthi militia supported the Sanaa-based government, and the President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi-led, Aden-based exiled government will likely hold U.N.-mediated peace talks later this month.

Tags

Yemen, RPG, Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL, Sanaa, Yemeni, Houthi, Saudi, UN