Aden, Jun 2 (IANS): A high-ranking Yemeni military intelligence official and four of his companions were injured in an assassination attempt on him in the country's southwestern province of Taiz, a security source told the media.

The source said on Saturday on condition of anonymity that "unknown assailants targeted the convoy of Brigadier Abdo Qasim Buhairi, director of the military intelligence division in Taiz, with an explosive device as it passed through a road in al-Misrakh district of Taiz," giving no further details on the health condition of the official and his bodyguards.

Pro-government military and security services in Taiz have launched an investigation to identify the perpetrators, Xinhua news agency reported.

The incident highlighted the fragile security situation in Yemen, where military and pro-government officials remain at risk amid the ongoing conflict and power struggle in the war-ravaged Arab country.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed internationally-recognised government out of the capital Sanaa.