Gunmen attacked on Tuesday a car of the French company Total in Yemen's eastern Hadramout province injuring the company's security chief and killing one of his Yemeni guards, security sources said.
The second guard is in critical condition, the sources said.
The gunmen planned to abduct the Frenchman in Sayoon but his guards, Yemeni soldiers, exchanged fire with them, the sources made it clear. "The French was in critical condition and taken to hospital, while the attackers ran away," they added.
The incident comes amid increasing kidnappings by al-Qaida militants, who have been fighting the army for the past few years in southern regions.
In March, a Hodeida-based Swiss female teacher and the Aden-based Saudi consul were abducted and taken to hides in Shabwa province. They have not been released yet. In April, a Frenchman was kidnapped in Hodeida and the efforts to release the three have failed including military raids in Shabwa.
In the past few weeks, hundreds of militants have been killed and injured amid expanded military operations to face plans to occupy more towns in the south to expand their presence.
Last year, al-Qaida seized some towns including the capital of Abyan Zinjibar but more recently the forces, with support from the US and popular fighters, have cleared militants from many in areas in this city.