Sana'a, Yemen  - Gunmen loyal to a Shiite rebel group killed a senior regional official in an ambush in the north-western Yemeni al-Jawf province on Wednesday, local sources said.

The sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that Abdul-Wahab al- Dhamin, the deputy governor of al-Jawf, and three tribal chieftains accompanying him were killed after the gunmen opened fire on al- Dhamin's car.

The attackers ambushed the car near al-Zahir district of al-Jawf, some 195 kilometres north west of the capital Sana'a, they said.

Al-Jawf borders the Saada region where fighting between Shiite rebels loyal to the outlawed Believing Youth group, known as Houthis, and government forces has been raging on and off since mid-2004.

Waves of violent clashes have since left hundreds of government troops and rebels dead, and displaced thousands of civilians from the remote province. (dpa)