ADEN, Yemen, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen opened fire and shot dead a pro-government army officer along with his bodyguard in Yemeni southwestern province of Taiz on Monday, a security official told Xinhua.
The security source said on condition of anonymity that "an officer of the pro-government national forces was killed along with his bodyguard in an ambush by unknown gunmen in the central area of Taiz province."
He added that "the army officer, identified as Abdullah Muqbel, and his bodyguard received a barrage of bullets and died immediately at the scene."
A cordon and search operation were underway to trace the assailants who managed to escape following the drive-by shooting, according to the local source.
Extremist elements linked to the Islamic State group or the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch are active in the center of Taiz, which is controlled by the government forces.
Government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition have been locked in constant clashes with the Houthi rebels in the north, east and west sides of Taiz province since April 2015.
Yemen has been locked into a civil war since late 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.
The civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
