Yemen: Jaafar Mohammed Saad, Governor of Yemen’s Aden province, has been killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his convoy, security sources say. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Islamic State, in a statement posted on a messaging service, said it detonated a car laden with explosives as Saad's convoy passed by. The group promised more operations against "the heads of apostasy in Yemen".
The group also posted what it said were photos of the booby-trapped vehicle as a white van carrying Saad drove past, then two other photos of a huge ball of fire which it said were taken as the bomb exploded.
Earlier this year, Aden was recaptured by government troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition.
“The assassination of the governor was only the latest in a series of political killings in Aden in recent months,” Al Jazeera quoted Hisham al-Omeisy, a Yemeni political analyst, as saying.
"Major General Jaafar Mohammed Saad was pro-cession of the south of Yemen and was under a lot of pressure," Omeisy said added.
“He was blocked from getting to his office several times in the past weeks and his movement in the city was very restricted. To a lot of people in Aden, this attack does not come as much of a surprise,” Omeisy added.
"There is a security vacuum in Aden. Al-Qaeda and other militias are running freely. So it's very instable and therefore no surprise that the governor was targeted after we've seen several assassinations over the past two months," he said.
"It's likely going to get even worse, especially now that al-Qaeda has taken over in two cities just a few kilometers away from Aden. So they'll be moving into Aden and I think you'll see a war in the streets there very soon," Omeisy added.
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