General Salem Ali Qoton was killed as he was walking to his office in the Mansoura neighborhood of Aden on Monday, the source said on the condition of anonymity.
Four other people were also wounded in the attack.
Over the past months, the Yemeni commander had served in the southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa.
A deadly bomb attack was carried out in Yemen in May. About 120 people, mainly soldiers, were killed in the bombing in the capital, Sana’a, on May 21.
The UN Security Council condemned the Sana’a bombing “in the strongest terms.”
