The attacks follow a similar shooting the day before and are part of what Yemeni officials say is an increase in Al-Qaeda’s attempts to assassinate security officials.
Al-Baham, security chief of the town of Mudiyah in Abyan province, was shot dead on Thursday during a protest marking the 47th anniversary of the launch of its uprising against British colonial rule, a security official said.
Mudiyah is located to the north of Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, which has been a focus of separatist sentiment in the south.
The security official blamed the shooting on supporters of the Southern Movement, a coalition of autonomist and pro-independence groups.
But Southern Movement official Abbas Al-Assal denied its supporters were involved in the shooting, saying it was committed by a masked man "who belongs to Al-Qaeda."
Assal accused security forces of "firing on peaceful protesters," adding: "We are peaceful and reject violence."
Mudiyah police said officers had surrounded the house of a suspected Al-Qaeda member implicated in the killing of the police chief.
He accused both Al-Qaeda and the Southern Movement of attacking security officials in Abyan.
A few hours later, gunmen opened fire on the entourage of the Abyan governor, leading to a fire fight that injured two of his security guards. Gov. Ahmad Al-Maisari was on his way to investigate the first attack when the shooting started, police said.
Security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to media, said they suspect Al-Qaeda militants, led by leader Anwar Al-Ambari, were behind the two attacks.
On Wednesday, an intelligence officer was seriously wounded by armed motorcyclists in Seiyun, in Hadramouth province further east.
Col. Riyadh Al-Khatabi, the intelligence chief for Seiyun, died of his wounds on Thursday, a medical official said.
Another intelligence officer, Abdul Aziz Abdullah Bashraheel, was shot dead on Oct. 8 by two masked gunmen on a motorcycle in Foha, west of the Hadramouth provincial capital Mukalla, a security official said.
And on Monday, two attackers on a motorbike in Zinjibar gunned down an officer, Ghazi Al-Samawi, who featured on an Al-Qaeda hit list of policemen to be killed, a security official said.
The south was independent from British withdrawal in 1967 until it united with the north in 1990. The region seceded in 1994, sparking a brief civil war that saw it overrun by northern troops.
Many residents complain of discrimination on the part of the Sanaa government, and there have been mounting protests by the Southern Movement.
The region has also seen a growing number of attacks by suspected Al-Qaeda militants, who have taken advantage of popular opposition to the central government.
