US Embassy's Yemen security chief killed

SANAA, Yemen (AP) - A gunman has assassinated the Yemeni chief of security at the United States Embassy in Sanaa, according to Yemeni security officials.

Mr Qassem Aqlani, who was in his fifties, was shot dead while on his way to work early on Thursday. Officials said a gunman on a motorcycle opened fire at him and fled the scene.

Mr Aqlani had been working for the US Embassy in the Yemeni capital for nearly 20 years.

The attack came as Yemen's US-backed government is waging an offensive against an al-Qaeda's branch in the country, taking back territory and cities in the south that the terror group seized last year.