"Gunmen travelling in a vehicle fired several rounds towards General Mahmud al-Sobaihi`s car near intelligence headquarters in Huta," the capital of Lahj, the official said, adding that the officer escaped "unharmed."
"The general`s bodyguards hunted down the assailants and arrested one, who was wounded in the clashes," the official said.
A civilian was also wounded in the fire exchange, according to the official, who did not disclose the motives behind the attack or the identities of the attackers.
Sobaihi commands Al-Anad region, the site of a strategic air base used by US soldiers in the southern Lahj province.
The general`s troops have played a major role in an anti-Qaeda offensive that ended the control in June of Al-Qaeda militants on a string of towns and cities which they had held across the south for a year.
Although weakened, the network`s militants continue to launch hit-and-run attacks on members of the security forces across Yemen. (M014)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
