Al Qaeda Flag
Al Qaeda FlagAFP photo

Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa escaped an assassination attempt today, as the Middle East's poorest nation continues to wage a campaign against Al Qaeda terrorists.

Officials in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, say that unidentified gunmen in a vehicle opened fired at the Yemeni Prime Minister’s convoy while returning home from his office on Sunday.

Basindwa survived the attempted assassination, which was the first time the prime minister was targeted, unlike other members of his cabinet.

Last Friday, a senior intelligence officer was reportedly killed by suspected terrorists in southern Labous province.

Ali al-Sarari, one of Basindwa’s aides, told Reuters news agency that security forces were trying to track down the vehicle used in the attack.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists have been behind a series of violent attacks against the government in Yemen and civilians. 

Earlier this month, the US and several other Western countries temporarily closed their embassies in Sanaa after reports of an imminent Al Qaeda attack.

The US has been waging a deadly drone-strike campaign, targeting Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen's lawless desert regions.