ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />STORY: A senior Yemeni military officer was killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded in the southeastern city of Mukalla in an attack blamed on al Qaeda, a security official said Friday.<br/> <br />The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on senior figures or government institutions in Yemen since a U.S.-backed offensive drove Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda from their strongholds in the southern part of the country in June.<br/> <br />Brigadier Omar Barasheed, dean of the Command and General Staff College, died in hospital from injuries incurred in the bombing, an official told Reuters.<br/> <br />His bodyguard was killed and a civilian was wounded.<br/> <br />The official, who asked not be named, said all signs indicated al-Qaeda was behind the attack, which happened late on Thursday (August 9) in the capital of Hadramaut province.
