A colonel of the Yemeni military intelligence agency was shot dead in a drive-by shooting by unknown gunmen in Yemen's southern province of Lahj on Saturday, the latest in a series of assassinations in the country, a government official said.

"Unknown assailants suspected to be from the al-Qaida opened fire at Colonel Hameed al-Tawil and killed him near a public hospital in Lahj province," the Yemeni government official told Xinhua.

A local medic in Lahj confirmed the incident saying that the intelligence colonel died after being shot several times in the head.

"At the moment, we don't have information about the exact numbers of attackers, but the incident looks like a well-planned assassination by terrorists," a police officer said.

On Thursday, a Yemeni military intelligence colonel was gunned down by armed men riding a motorbike in the southeastern province of Hadramout.

No group has claimed reasonability for the drive-by shooting on Saturday, but militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have been blamed for many assassinations and armed attacks in the past.

The Yemeni military and security forces, with U.S. support, have recently intensified operations against suspected al-Qaida strongholds throughout the country, killing many non-Yemeni al- Qaida suspects, and prompting retaliation attacks by the AQAP.

Last week, scores of suspected al-Qaida gunmen launched more than six attacks including shootings, bombings, and arson, leaving 31 dead and several others injured in Hadramout province. Endi

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