Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen shot dead a Yemeni army colonel near a military base in the southeastern province of Hadramout Saturday noon, a provincial security official told Xinhua.
"Two unknown attackers on a motorcycle opened fire at army colonel Ali Nasser from the 315th Armoured Brigade in Seiyun town in the southeastern province of Hadramout, killing him immediately on the spot," the provincial security source said on condition of anonymity.
The assailants managed to flee the scene after conducting the drive-by shooting.
“Two terrorists riding a motorcycle fired bullets on the army colonel after he left his workplace. Police forces are trying to track down the suspect," a military intelligence officer said, confirming the attack to Xinhua.
Saturday's shooting is the latest in a wave of almost daily attacks and assassinations, blamed on the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda branch, against army and intelligence officers in southern Yemen.
The Yemen-based Al-Qaeda branch is considered the most strategic threat to the Yemeni government and neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.