Frenchman shot dead in Yemeni capital, two wounded

People look at a damaged car where a French man was assassinated, in Sanaa May 5, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

SANAA (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a Frenchman working as a security agent for the EU mission in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, France announced, as the army waged an offensive against al Qaeda in the south of the country.

Westerners have frequently been attacked in Yemen, an impoverished U.S.-allied country fighting Islamist militancy, southern secessionists, tribal conflicts and a Shi'ite Muslim rebellion in the north.