On Dec. 6, Maj. Gen. Jaafar Mohammed Saad, governor of the city of Aden, was killed in a car bomb targeting his convoy in Aden, in southern Yemen. The attack confirms that insecurity has reached severe heights in the temporary capital of Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

This attack came amid a series of other security incidents, such as the killing Dec. 5 of the head of the Aden-based anti-terrorism court, Mohsen Alwan, in the city of Mansoura. On the same day, unknown armed assailants killed military intelligence officer Col. Aqeel al-Khodr in al-Mualla district.

Four hours after the governor’s assassination, in a statement online, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack targeting Saad, two months after he was appointed at his post. Yet, it does not mean that IS is the only source of chaos. There are multiple factions and armed groups that engaged in the fighting against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces and the Houthis last year, and they have demanded to obtain what they perceive as merits. Ansar al-Sharia is demanding the establishment of what the group calls an “Islamic Emirate,” while the Southern Movement calls for the re-establishment of South Yemen as an independent state.

Despite the robberies and killings of security and military officers — some of which IS claims responsibility for, while the source of other incidents remains unknown — Saad’s assassination has shocked the coastal city’s residents, as it delivers the message that insecurity has defeated one of the most important government officials after Hadi in Aden.