Hadhramaut deputy governor Essam al Kathery has escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide car bomber on his convoy on Sunday, a security official said, the latest in a string of militant attacks on the government.
A bomb exploded on his convoy near Yemen’s eastern city of Sioun. The bomb blast was followed by fire attack. However, no casualties have been reported.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack but al-Hilali has been targeted by al-Qaida previously in failed assassination attempts.
This comes after a weekend of violence in southern Yemen when twenty-one militants associated with  al-Qaeda were killed in attacks carried out by Yemeni troops and US aircraft on al-Qaeda bases in the governorates of Abin and Shabwa.
Al Qaeda and Islamic State militants have taken advantage of 10 months of civil war in Yemen to expand their presence in Aden, where the embattled government is based.
Over the past year, Shiite Houthi rebels and allied forces loyal to a former president have been fighting local forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition which is supporting the internationally recognized government of President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.