A senior military official escaped an assassination attempt when his convoy came under gunfire in Yemen's southern province of Lahj on Sunday, a police officer told Xinhua.

Unknown gunmen opened heavy fire at the convoy of Gen. Mahmoud al-Subihi, commander of the Anad military air base and the 201st Armored Brigade, after he left a meeting at the headquarters of the local government in Houta city, the provincial capital of Lahj, the local police officer said on condition of anonymity.

"The military official has narrowly escaped from an assassination by unidentified assailants armed with automatic rifles in a main street near the local government compound in Houta city," the police source said.

"Nobody was hurt in the armed attack, but two cars of the convoy were pockmarked by bullets," he added.

Suspected al-Qaida attackers attempted to kill Gen. Mahmoud al- Subihi, who is pursuing an aggressive military campaign against the terrorists in their former strongholds in neighboring southern province of Abyan, a government official told Xinhua anonymously.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot has exploited Yemen's year- long unrest and controlled several southern cities for more than one year before they were driven out by an U.S.-backed army offensive.

In June, Yemen's military officials announced seizing al-Qaida 's last bastion in the country's south following the military offensive. However, local military and anti-terrorism experts said the Yemeni al-Qaida branch remained a major threat to the impoverished Arab country. Endi

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