High-ranking Yemeni official survives assassination bid

By Shukri Hussein

ADEN, Yemen (AA) - A deputy interior minister on Monday survived an assassination bid in Yemen’s southern Aden province, according to a statement released by the ministry.

Published on the ministry’s website, the statement quoted unnamed security sources as saying that Major-General Mohamed Musaed al-Amir, Yemen’s deputy interior minister for police services, had “narrowly escaped an assassination attempt”.

According to the source, unidentified gunmen had opened fire on al-Amir’s vehicle as he was driven through Aden’s northwestern Bir Fadhl district.

The deputy minister, however, emerged from his bullet-ridden car unscathed, the same source said.

After a subsequent exchange of fire between al-Amir’s bodyguards and the attackers, two of the latter were arrested by police and are now awaiting interrogation.

The remaining attackers fled the scene to an unknown location, according to the ministry statement.

Yemen has been dogged by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi militia overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, forcing the country’s internationally-recognized government to set up an interim headquarters in Aden.