ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- An official of Yemen's Interior Ministry escaped an assassination attempt on Monday in the southern port city of Aden, a government official told Xinhua.

"Abu Muhtam Sumaidi, the commander of the 4th Special Security Battalion, survived an assassination attempt when gunmen ambushed his motorcade," the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

The armed attack apparently aimed at killing the security commander on his way to the headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition forces, the government source said.

He said that the targeted security official was not hurt but his bodyguards suffered injuries.

Some of the motorcade's vehicles were affected during an exchange of gunfire with the masked attackers, according to the source.

There has been no claim of responsibility of the attack. But police sources in Aden blamed militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State group of being behind the failed assassination attempt.

Considered Yemen's temporary capital city, Aden is where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself since 2015.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since late 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.