A suicide bomber attacked the convoy of the commander of Yemeni government troops fighting Al-Qaeda in its southeastern stronghold on Wednesday, killing four of his guards, a military official said.
General Abdulrahman al-Haleeli escaped unharmed from the attack in Hadramawt province, where his troops have made a string of advances against Al-Qaeda with the backing of Emirati and Saudi special forces.
Last month, the jihadists were driven out of the provincial capital Mukalla, which they had held for a year, as well as nearby coastal towns.
But they still control several towns in the interior valley of Wadi Hadramawt where Wednesday's attack took place.
The offensive against Al-Qaeda comes amid a truce and peace talks between the government and Iran-backed rebels it has been fighting with support from a Saudi-led coalition since March last year.
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