A German security guard employed by the German embassy in Yemen was gunned down and killed as he was leaving a supermarket in Sanaa

Authorities said the attack bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

Al-Arabiya reported that the guard was shot as assailants tried to kidnap the German ambassador, who escaped.

Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has attempted to attack several large Western targets, including airliners, and is believed to have been behind a series of killings of foreign and local officials in the country since 2011.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.