6 killed in Yemen blast targeting officials

A car bombing in Yemen on Sunday that targeted the convoy of a local governor left six people dead and seven others injured, a senior official said.

Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Moammar al-Eryani voiced strong condemnation of the "treacherous" and "cowardly terrorist crime" in the southern port city of Aden that targeted provincial Governor Ahmed Hamed Lamlas and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Salem Al-Saqtri when a car bomb exploded as they passed through the Hujaif neighborhood, resultng in death of six and injury of seven guards and civilians.

Both Lamlas and Suqatri survived the assassination attempt.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack and Yemeni authorities have yet to issue an official statement.

The former governor of Aden, Jaafar Saad, was killed in a similar attack in 2015.

Aden, the temporary capital of Yemen, experiences regular attacks that target government officials and public figures.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises with 233,000 people killed, nearly 80% or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar and Seda Sevencan​​​​​​​