German embassy guard killed in attack on diplomatic vehicle

Unknown gunmen killed a German embassy guard on Sunday in an attack on a diplomatic vehicle in the Yemeni capital, a security official said.

The two gunmen tried to kidnap the German citizen as he left a supermarket in Sanaa, killing him when he resisted before fleeing in a car, the official added.

In a separate incident, armed tribesmen reportedly abducted a UNICEF employee in a northwestern suburb of Sanaa.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.

Abductions are frequent in Yemen, an impoverished nation where armed tribesmen and al-Qaeda-linked militants take hostages in an effort to swap them for prisoners or cash.

Yemen is engaged in a rocky political transition since long-time autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in 2012 following mass popular protests.

The country's political turmoil has caused a security vacuum, which al-Qaeda has used to seize large swaths of territory across the restive south.


AP