Army colonel gunned down in Yemen

ADEN (AA) – A Yemeni army colonel serving in the Saudi-led coalition forces was assassinated Monday in the southwestern al- province of Yemen, source told Anadolu Agency.

Col. Abdulaziz Muhammed Yusuf - was gunned down by unknown assailants, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns.

was the third person assassinated within 24 hours.

A senior member of Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Al-Islah, or reform party, Saleh Ahmed al-, and of the party were shot dead Monday in northern Yemen, according to a party source.

was the third person assassinated in the past 24 hours.

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire as the latter drove his car through the city of Dhamar, killing him instantly, a source told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the assassinations, the city is held by Yemen’s Shia Houthi militia group.

The party source said the attack took place near a Houthi-held security office.

In April, another senior Al-Islah member was shot dead in the same city.

Yemen has been ravaged by civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa and a number of other provinces, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

In March of last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, pro-Hadi forces have since managed to reclaim large of the country’s south -- including provisional capital Aden -- but have failed to retake Sanaa and other strategic areas.

(Reporting by Sükri Huseyin; Writing by Sibel Ugurlu)