Col. Ahmed Ali Matres, the second-in-command of the security intelligence in Zujubar, the capital of Abyan province, in south Yemen, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb exploded when his convoy was passing through, sources said.

Col. Matres was heading to office when his car hit the explosive device planted by two motorcyclists who were monitoring the official’s movement.

The security official was unharmed but the explosion shattered the windows of his car. Col. Matres featured on an Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) list of 55 policemen to be targeted. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but it bears the hallmark of AQAP.

In the same province, gunmen killed another security official, Col. Ahmed Kebdah, in Ahwar, source said.