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Yemeni senior army officer survives bomb blast in Abyan province

25 August 2012 00:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Yemeni senior military official survived unharmed a roadside bomb targeting his convoy in southern province of Abyan Friday evening, but two of his bodyguards were injured, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The bomb blast struck the convoy carrying the top commander of an army brigade and counter-terrorism unit, Mahmoud Ahmed, in Zinjibar, Abyan’s provincial capital, injuring at least two of his bodyguards at the scene, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"Colonel Mahmoud Ahmed, commander of the 116th Armored Army Brigade, was travelling in a desert road to the town of Zinjibar along with two other vehicles when he came under attack," the official said.

Two of his bodyguards were slightly injured in the bomb blast and no damages were reported, he added.

Experts of the bomb disposal unit have arrived at the scene and launched investigation, according to the official.

In the past few months, al-Qaida has carried out deadly suicide bombings in Yemeni key cities including the capital Sanaa in retaliation for the severe blows against its members in the south and to expand foothold.

Backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government waged a month-long intensive offensive in May against hundreds of al-Qaida militants, driving them out of strongholds they had controlled for nearly a year in the country’s south.

Besides the al-Qaida presence, the impoverished country is also boiling with staggering political and armed rebellions.