Unidentified gunmen shot dead two local officials in Yemen's southern province of Lahj on Friday evening, a security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
"An official of the General People Congress party and another official of Lahj local government were all gunned down by masked attackers riding a motorbike while they were traveling toward the neighboring southern province of Aden," a local security official said, adding that the two victims died immediately on the spot.
An official of the Interior Ministry confirmed the incident and said that they sent security forces patrols to sweep the areas near Lahj after receiving information about potential movement of the al-Qaida terrorist group there.
Yemeni military officials blamed militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's southern parts.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, which emerged in January 2009, is considered one of the greatest threats to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.