ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Four Yemeni policemen were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in the southern province of al-Dhalea on Wednesday, a security official told Xinhua.
"An improvised explosive device planted by unknown militants struck a vehicle in Sanah area of al-Dhalea around noon today, killing four police members on the spot," a local security official said on condition of anonymity.
The bomb attack was apparently aimed at the 7th Army Battalion Col. Taher Oqla, but he survived the attack unharmed, the source said.
"The army official passed through the same road just several minutes after the bomb attack," he said.
The local security source blamed militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch saying that terror elements are active in the area.
However, terror groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State that are largely relying on roadside and suicide bombings are yet to claim responsibility for the attack.
Government officials, including high-ranking security commanders and intelligence officers, have been the prime targets in kidnapping incidents as well as armed attacks launched by unknown gunmen in recent days.
The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.
