Aden, Aug 18 (IANS): A high-ranking official of Yemen's pro-government security forces was killed on Sunday in an ambush suspected to have been carried out by the Al-Qaeda terrorist group in the country's southern province of Abyan, a military official told Xinhua.

The local military official who asked to remain anonymous, said that Colonel Hussein Rabidh, commander of the Security Belt Forces in Mudiyah district, Abyan province, was targeted in an armed ambush believed to be orchestrated by Al-Qaeda gunmen.

He clarified that the attack resulted in the death of Colonel Rabidh and two of his bodyguards immediately at the scene.

The Security Belt Forces are newly formed security units operating under the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a pro-secession southern movement aligned with Yemen's government in the ongoing conflict against Houthi forces.

Following the initial attack, clashes erupted between security forces and the suspected terrorists. The military source reported that three terrorist elements were killed and two others wounded in the ensuing firefight.

The incident occurred merely two days after a deadly suicide car bombing, claimed by Al-Qaeda, targeted a military barracks of the STC's 3rd army brigade in Abyan. That attack resulted in 16 soldiers killed and 18 others injured.

Abyan province sits along Yemen's southern coastline and has been the site of ongoing fighting between the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and pro-government troops trying to root out the terrorist group.

Despite continuous counterterrorism operations, the Yemeni government has been struggling to prevent Al-Qaeda factions from taking advantage of the country's ongoing civil war and power vacuum to expand, especially in the country's south.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthis fighting against the internationally-recognized Yemeni government.