"A bomb placed in Colonel Faisal Ghanim's car exploded the minute he climbed into the car parked outside his home," said the official, adding Al-Qaeda was suspected of being behind the attack.

Ghanim was seriously wounded in the attack.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has intensified its attacks on security forces in Yemen, taking advantage of the weakening of the Sanaa central government since a popular uprising that toppled president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011.

Informed sources in Yemen say some 4,000 Wahhabi Salafists have been dispatched to the region to prepare the ground for a war on Houthis in the provinces.

The Takfiris also have established checkpoints to avoid transferring of food and aids to Sa’ada Province. They have also begun arresting al-Houthi supporters in the areas.

On October 23, several people, including two children, were injured after militants belonging to Takfiri groups opened fire at Yemenis in Hajjah Province.

Most Takfiris have identified themselves with the shadowy al-Qaeda terror network and are widely known to have committed countless atrocities against people opposing their views.

SHI/SHI