ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of Yemen's pro-government security forces survived an explosion that struck his motorcade in the country's southern oil-rich province of Shabwa on Thursday, a government official told Xinhua.
"The explosion apparently caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), targeted the motorcade of Brigadier Awad Dhiban along with his soldiers while they were passing through the main street in Shabwa's provincial city of Ataq," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.
He clarified that Awad Dhiban survived the explosion unhurt, but his son and two soldiers lost their lives as a result of the terror incident.
Dhiban used to be in charge of elite security units that worked for the government. He led several campaigns against terrorist hideouts in mountainous areas of Shabwa. He is also considered a prominent social and tribal figure in Shabwa.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion so far. The Yemeni official held militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) responsible for the attack.
The AQAP, which was involved in several terror attacks against Yemen's pro-government forces during the past months, has yet to make comments.
Attacks carried out by militant groups against the pro-government southern troops securing oil fields have recently surged in various regions of Yemen as a UN-brokered nationwide truce expired without reaching a renewal agreement between the warring sides. ■
