SANAA - Yemeni Information Minister Ali al- Amrany escaped an ambush in the capital Sanaa on late Thursday, local media reported.

The pro-opposition media Almasdaronline.net reported that al- Amrani survived an ambush which was carried out by unknown gunmen near the minister's house in the capital.

One of the minister's bodyguards was seriously wounded in the fighting, it said, adding that it was the second time that al- Amrany escaped assassination in less than three months.

The police said they had launched investigation into the attack.

Al-Amrany quit the ruling party led by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in March 2011, after protests that demanded Saleh step down. He was appointed as information minister in the transitional government in December 2011.

The new government was formed in line with a power transfer deal brokered by the Gulf countries that peacefully replaced Saleh with his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.