The assailants intercepted the vehicle carrying Colonel Hussein Shabibi, head of internal security in the city's Sheikh Othman district, and shot him dead before making good their escape in a car, the official said.
Shabibi was the latest security officer to be targeted in recent months in south Yemen in attacks generally attributed by officials to al-Qaeda.
The Islamist turban network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the capital Sanaa to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...to bolster its presence in south and east Yemen.
Militants linked to al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Abyan scenic provincial capital Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by U.S. drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, the al-Qaeda-linked bad turban group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.