06 December 2015•Update: 08 December 2015
ADEN, Yemen
Jaafar Mohammed Saad, governor of Yemen’s southern Aden province, was killed Sunday -- along with eight of his bodyguards -- in a car bomb attack in the Al-Tawahi district, responsibility for which was quickly claimed by the Daesh militant group.
"A car bomb targeted the governor’s convoy while he was en route to his office in the city of Al-Mualla," a local security source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
"The governor and eight of his bodyguards were killed immediately, while the injured were taken to nearby hospitals," he added.
In an online statement issued shortly afterward, Daesh claimed responsibility for the assassination, vowing to "carry out additional attacks in the future".
Saad, an army major-general, had coordinated with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) military in fighting that took place earlier this year in Aden between forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Shia Houthi militant group.
Hadi had recently awarded Saad the country’s Medal of Courage for his role in planning, preparing and supervising the "liberation" of Aden from the Houthis and their allies, forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saad was appointed Aden governor by a presidential decree issued by Hadi on Oct. 8.
Several local political and security figures have been targeted in Aden since mid-July, when pro-Hadi forces -- supported by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which includes the UAE -- retook the coastal province from the Houthis and their allies.
According to a source close to the presidency, Hadi has since drawn up a fact-finding committee to determine the circumstances of Sunday’s assassination.
Hadi has also convened an emergency meeting of security officials and government ministers to discuss the current situation in Yemen, which has been dogged by conflict since the Houthis overran capital Sanaa one year ago.
