ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen opened fire and assassinated a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood party (Islah) in Yemen's southern province of al-Dhalea on Friday evening, a security official told Xinhua.

The unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire from silenced weapons and shot dead Zaki Saklady, a leading Muslim Brotherhood member and politician in al-Dhalea province, local security source said on condition of anonymity.

The politician was killed inside his own car after receiving a barrage of bullets from two masked attackers, the source said.

Identities of the attackers and their motive were not clear but investigation is still underway.

Witnesses said that the masked assailants fled from the site after assassinating the leading Muslim Brotherhood member.

On Tuesday, similar incident took place when a leading member of Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party was found killed hours after being kidnapped from his house in the southern port city of Aden.

Yemeni government officials, including high-ranking security commanders and intelligence officers, have been the prime targets of kidnapping as well as armed attacks by unknown gunmen in recent days.

The southern port city of Aden, where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based since 2015, is considered as Yemen's temporary capital.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi rebels took over all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, from the government.