Gunmen opened fire Monday on the governor of Taiz`s motorcade, killing at least five security officers and wounding two others, authorities said. The attack, targeting Nabil Shamsan, happened on a key road linking Taiz to the rest of the country, Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, a spokesman for the province, told The Associated Press. He added that two assailants were killed in the shootout.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, the governor`s office said security and military forces were working to bring those behind the attack to justice. The province`s capital, also named Taiz, has been a battleground pitting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and other militias backed by the Islamist Islah party against each other as well as other factions in Yemen`s civil war.