SANAA, Yemen – A powerful car bomb struck the Yemeni defense minister’s motorcade as he was driving through the nation’s capital Tuesday, killing at least 13 people but leaving the minister unharmed, security officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but al-Qaida’s Yemeni branch has carried out several failed assassination attempts against the minister, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, in the past. The attack comes a day after Yemeni authorities announced the death of the No. 2 leader of the network’s Yemeni branch in an apparent U.S. airstrike.

Tuesday’s bombing hit the last vehicle in the minister’s three-car convoy as it was traveling through Sanaa’s al-Izaa neighborhood, Yemeni security officials said.