Saudi diplomat and bodyguard shot dead in Sanaa

Men inspect the site where a Saudi diplomat and his bodyguard were killed A Saudi diplomat and his bodyguard were killed when their car was shot at by unidentified assailants in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses told Arabstoday that gunmen boarding a SUV shot fire at the diplomat, Khalid al-Anzi, who served as an assistant of the Saudi military in Sanaa and his Yemeni bodyguard Mubarak Shaiban, in the area of Bait Zabatan.
The eyewitnesses added that the killers were dressed in security force uniforms and managed to escape after the shooting.
Security sources said to Arabstoday that Yemeni authorities have launched immediate investigations into the incident in coordination with the Saudi embassy in Sanaa "to find out the circumstances and motives behind the crime and prosecute those involved".
The sources revealed that the vehicle used in the attack was recently stolen from a Yemeni judge in west Yemen, adding that the judge, Noaman al-Qudsi is under treatment from wounds caused by the attack.
Another security official told Arabstoday that Yemeni authorities assume that al-Qaeda is behind the assassination of the Saudi diplomat.
The state-run news agency Saba quoted a governmental source, saying that they strongly condemned "the hideous crime by these lawless criminals".
"The security bodies will spare no effort to detect and arrest the attackers who were behind the shooting," the source said.
In October, unidentified gunmen shot dead a senior Yemeni security official employed by the US embassy in a Sanaa in another hit-and-run attack.
Al-Qaeda has exploited the weakening central government in Sanaa to strengthen its presence in areas across the south and southeast.