Yemeni soldiers on patrol (file photo)

At least 12 soldiers and a civilian have been killed in a bomb attack on a military base in southeast Yemen, an official says.

According to an unnamed security official, the explosion took place on Sunday in the city of Mukalla, the Hadramawt provincial capital.

The military source said the attack left 12 soldiers dead, while a medic noted that a civilian succumbed to wounds sustained in the bomb blast.

The deadly assault came hours after three gunmen were killed when they attacked a checkpoint near the presidential palace in the capital Sana’a.

Gunmen launched a similar attack on the same post on Friday, killing five soldiers.

Some soldiers were said to have been abducted by the militants, who the government said were al-Qaeda-affiliated.

Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi was not at the palace at the time, authorities said.

Also on Friday, gunmen attacked a convoy carrying Defense Minister Major General Muhammad Nasir Ahmad and two other senior officials in the southern province of Shabwah.

Yemen has witnessed regular attacks on its troops and other acts of violence, with authorities blaming al-Qaeda militants for the deadly assaults.

The Yemeni army has started a large-scale offensive on April 29 to flush al-Qaeda militants out of provinces of Shabwa and Abyan, in the south, and Baida in the center.

Al-Qaeda-linked violence against Yemeni security forces has grown since February 2012, when President Hadi came to power in a one-man election backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Hadi replaced long-time dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was ousted after a year of mass protests across the country.

MR/AB

Courtesy: presstv.ir