Local Editor
A car bomb claimed by the ISIS group has killed the governor of Yemen’s second city Aden, a day after a visit by the UN’s envoy to press for long-delayed peace talks.
A statement posted on Twitter by the terror group said it was behind a blast that hit the convoy of Jaafar Saad in the Tawahi neighbourhood of the major port city, killing him and eight of his bodyguards.
In a statement carried by the official Saba news agency, the head of security in Aden General Mohamed Mussad confirmed Saad’s death and said six of his guards were also killed.
Images circulated on social media after the attack showed a wrecked car on fire on a main road in the city.
Saad was only recently appointed governor and was known to be close to fugitive former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who returned to Aden last month after several months in exile in Riyadh.
Tawahi itself has become a known hideout for terrorists, including militants belonging to Al-Qaeda.
ISIS has claimed a string of attacks in Yemen, including multiple suicide attacks on mosques in Sana’a attended by Shiite worshippers that killed scores.
Saad’s death comes a day after Yemen’s UN envoy held talks with Hadi in Aden aimed at kickstarting peace talks between the warring sides.
The United Nations says that more than 5700 people have been killed in Yemen, almost half of them civilians, since a Saudi-led military campaign began in March to supposedly restore power to Hadi.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
