ADEN: Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen killed a senior police officer and his bodyguard on Tuesday in Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramawt, a stronghold of the extremist network, a security official said.

Two men opened fire from a motorbike at the car of Col. Murad Al-Amudi, deputy director of criminal investigation in provincial capital Mukalla, the official said. Both the colonel and his bodyguard were killed instantly and the assailants then fled, he said.

The attack comes amid rising security fears in Yemen since the Shiite Houthi militia tightened its grip on power in the capital Sanaa early this month, prompting an exodus of foreign diplomats.

The Houthis’ attempt to extend their control has been met by deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington to be the terrorist network’s most dangerous branch. Yemen has descended into chaos since the Houthis seized Sanaa and ousted the government.