A senior Yemeni intelligence officer was killed by unknown gunmen in the southern city of Aden, dpa reported
The gunmen shot Colonel Abdel Hakim al-Qadi as he was leaving his car, according to the report.
He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which Lahj News said bore the hallmarks of the al-Qaeda terrorist group.
Aden has recently been rocked by a wave of assassinations and bombings.
Earlier this week, scurity forces arrested a number of Muslim radicals in Aden following a tip-off that al-Qaeda sympathizers had arrived in the city from the restive province of Abyan to attack security and military targets.