ADEN, (Reuters) – A senior Yemeni security official has been killed by a car bomb in the south-eastern city of Mukalla, in a suspected al Qaeda attack, a local security official said.

Brigadier Omar Barasheed, dean of the Command and General Staff College, died in hospital after a bomb hidden inside his car exploded, the official told Reuters. His bodyguard was also killed and his son wounded.

The Yemeni official, who asked not to be named, said all signs indicated al-Qaeda was behind the attack, which happened late on Thursday in the capital of Hadramaut province.

Investigations into the bombing are ongoing, the Yemeni government said in a statement carried by official news agency Saba on Friday.

Earlier this week, security forces foiled a plot by an al Qaeda-linked cell to carry out attacks in the capital Sanaa and seized 40 belts packed with explosives, the mayor said on Wednesday, highlighting the risks posed by Islamist militancy in the impoverished Arab state.

The Defense Ministry said seven militants had also been detained in the southern town of Jaar, where a suicide bomber killed 45 tribal fighters earlier this week and threatened further attacks on a bigger scale.