A car bomb claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) killed the governor of Aden, Yemen, on Sunday in the strategic port city recaptured from Houthi rebels in July, according to reports.
{mosads}General Jaafar Mohammed Saad, a close ally of Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, was killed alongside at least six in his entourage, complicating a Saudi Arabia-led effort to bring an end to months of civil war in its southern neighbor.
The unrest has benefited the powerful al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as well as ISIS, which has attacked Houthi bases and mosques in addition to sites under government control.
Sunday’s car bombing came one day after separate Aden incidents saw the slayings of a senior army officer and a judge who presided over the trial after the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.
A U.N. envoy has been meeting with Hadi to discuss ways to end the fighting with the Houthis, who control the capital city of Sanaa. More than 5,700 people have died in ground fighting and Saudi-led airstrikes since March.