Iranian diplomat seriously wounded by gunmen in Yemen

SANAA -- An Iranian diplomat was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, an interior ministry official told Xinhua.

Unidentified gunmen driving a car fired 10 shots at the diplomat near a supermarket on the Hadda Street in downtown the capital, about 100 meters north of the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, and then fled the scene, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The diplomat has been transferred to the Saudi-German hospital and he is in serious condition.

Earlier, the official said that the Iranian diplomat was killed at the scene.

The Yemeni police have set up checkpoints on roads leading to the Iranian embassy to search for the gunmen and launched a large- scale investigation into the incident, according to the official.

An official at the Iranian embassy confirmed that one of the embassy staff was attacked by gunmen.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt.

Foreigners are frequently kidnapped or assassinated in Yemen where the security situation worsened after a political upheaval in 2011. On July 21, an Iranian diplomat was kidnapped in Sanaa and is still held hostage.

In October, 2013, near the location where the Iranian diplomat was wounded on Saturday, the militants assassinated a security staff of the German embassy in Sanaa after he forcibly resisted their kidnapping attempt.