ADEN, Yemen, March 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and over a dozen others injured when a car bomb went off on a security convoy in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday, a government official told Xinhua.
The explosives-laden vehicle in the provincial capital of Zinjibar "targeted a convoy of Brigadier Abdul-Lafif Sayed, chief of the newly-recruited security forces" affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.
He confirmed that the explosion killed 12 bodyguards of the security official, who himself was slightly injured, and wounded about 15 others, all are members of the security forces based in Abyan.
Witnesses said the explosion was very powerful and rocked the neighborhoods of Zinjibar, causing panic among local residents.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack, but local security officials suspected that gunmen believed to be members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida were behind the terror incident.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.
The AQAP has exploited years of deadly conflicts between the Yemeni government and Houthi militia to expand its presence in some key areas of the war-ravaged Arab country. ■
