Aden Governor Jaafar Mohammed Saad had been killed, along with several aides, in a large explosion that targeted his convoy, according to a BBC report.

The terror group Islamic State has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group is part of the warring factions in Yemen that include the Irani-backed Houthi fighters, Al-Qaeda, and supporters of former president Ali-Abdullah Saleh.

Government troops, with the support of the Saudi-led coalition, recaptured the southern port city of Aden earlier this year. Saad is understood to have played an important role in recapturing Aden, which earned him the appointment as governor in October. He is also thought to be a close ally of Yemen’s incumbent president Abdrabbu Mansour al-Hadi.

The attack occurred a day following the arrival in Aden on 5 December of UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to meet with Hadi to renew discussions on peace talks between the government and the Houthi forces. The peace talks were to convene on 15 December.

A six-day UN-brokered humanitarian ceasefire agreement reached between the two parties in July lasted only a few hours.

The Saudi-led military intervention is now on its ninth month. The civil war has claimed 5,700 lives since the conflict began in March.