A suicide bomber killed at least eight people and wounded 17, including a senior commander, when he rammed a car laden with explosives into a government military convoy travelling in eastern Yemen on Wednesday, a security official said.
The official said that six soldiers and two civilians died in the attack near the city of al-Qatan on the convoy of General Abdul-Rahman al-Halili, head of Yemen’s First Military Region which is loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Halili, who was on his way to inspect Yemeni government forces when the attack took place, suffered medium injuries in the attack, the official added.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but militants from al Qaeda and ISIS have repeatedly carried out attacks against Yemeni military and security forces in southern and eastern Yemen in recent months.
Hadi supporters, backed mainly by United Arab Emirates (UAE) forces in the Saudi-led coalition, drove al Qaeda militants from the Hadramout provincial capital in a military offensive last month.
Islamist militants have exploited a civil war pitting supporters of the Saudi-backed Hadi and the Iran-allied Houthis to extend their control over areas in southern and eastern Yemen and recruit followers.
The growing militant threat has spurred U.N.-sponsored peace talks between Hadi’s government and the Houthis now underway in Kuwait.
