Yemeni official survives assassination attempt

A senior Yemeni government official has been shot in an assassination attempt in Sanaa, metres away from President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's residence. Witnesses told Arabstoday that unidentified gunmen ambushed the car of the Head of Real Estate and lands department Abdullah al-Fadhli on Monday afternoon. Al-Fadhli's companion was killed, and two others were injured, in the attack at the corner of al-Zubairi and al-Setteen streets. Witnesses described the assault as "a hail of gunfire" and confirmed that gunmen fled the scene before Presidential Protection Force units had arrived. A source close to the government official told Arabstoday that al-Fadhli is in a stable condition at a hospital in Sanaa. Security authorities are yet to make an official statement, but there is growing speculation that influential tribal leaders who had been denied the purchase of state land by al-Fadhli are behind the attack. The incident comes just a day after a member of the national dialogue Abdulwahed Abu Ras, from the Houthi group, was attacked in al-Naser Street. Yemeni authorities have deployed 60,000 troops on the streets of Sanaa.