German ‘embassy guard shot dead’ in Yemen

The attack took place outside a supermarket in the capital's Hadda district, where the German and other foreign embassies are located.

The victim - reported to be a bodyguard of Ambassador Carola Mueller-Holtkemper - has not been named. German officials say they are checking the reports.

Yemen is struggling to control general lawlessness, an al-Qaeda insurgency, and divisions within the army.

Initial reports suggested that the attack was a failed kidnapping attempt of Germany's ambassador.

"The ambassador escaped but her bodyguard was killed as he tried to resist the attackers who managed to flee," AFP quoted an unnamed diplomatic source as saying.

However, the agency later quoted a Yemeni foreign ministry spokesman as saying that Ms Mueller-Holtkemper was "currently outside the country".

Germany - along with several other Western countries - briefly closed its Yemen embassy in August, after the US warned of a potential major militant attack in the Middle East.