Security officials say a suicide bomber has killed the army general leading the fight against al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen.

The officials say Maj. Gen. Salem Ali al-Quton was killed Monday while on his way to work. The bomber threw himself at the general's SUV in the southern port city of Aden. Four members of the general's security detail and a passer-by were seriously wounded. The general's vehicle was in a three-car convoy.

Al-Quton was appointed in April as the commander of the army in the south. The military there scored a series of battlefield victories last week against al-Qaida, driving militants out of the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar in Abyan province.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.