Yemen army commander shot dead in Aden

General Abedrabbo Hussain was killed by an unknown gunman as he was riding on the back of a motorcycle in the Sheikh Othman district of the city.

Hussein was a commander of the 15^th Infantry Brigade which operates in Abyan, an area largely dominated by al-Qaeda militants.

Aden was declared the country's temporary capital after Houthi rebels took control of Sanaa ten months ago.

The coastal city has seen a deteriorating security crisis as al-Qaeda and Islamic State group militants ascend on the area.

Last week an assassination attempt targeted the city's Governor, Aidaroos al-Zubaidy and Aden's Head of Security, Shallal Ali Shayea.

Just a day later, dozens of soldiers loyal to Hadi's government were killed when an IS suicide bomber detonated an explosive among the troops.

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A growing number of government officials and soldiers have been targeted after the militant groups declared them 'murtad'- a term used to describe apostates and "enemies of Islam".

The United Nations says more than 5,800 people have been killed in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state, about half of them civilians, since the Saudi led-coalition launched an air campaign ten months ago.

There have been fears that power vacuums in parts of southern Yemen have allowed extremist groups - such as al-Qaeda to proliferate.

Al-Qaeda militants captured the southern town of Ahwar on Saturday, seizing control of government buildings.

Three pro-government fighters were captured by the militants and had their throats slit.

The extremist fighters also control the provincial capital of Zinjibar, and a number of nearby towns, although much of its leadership have been taken out in US drone strikes.