BUJUMBURA, Burundi –  A presidential spokesman says a former Burundi intelligence chief has been killed in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Bujumbura.

Willy Nyamitwe told The Associated Press Sunday that Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimana, a key security ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza, was killed early Sunday when men in a car shot at him and his bodyguards while traveling in the Kamenge neighborhood.

Nyamitwe said the attackers also lobbed a grenade into Nshimirimana's vehicle. He said the general later died from his wounds.

Bujumbura has been wracked by violence since April when it was revealed that the president would seek a third term.

Nshimirimana was widely seen as a key member of the president's security team who helped to put down an attempted coup in May.

Nkurunziza won the July 21 presidential polls.