A powerful explosion on Friday hit an oil well in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, a government official told Xinhua.

Several groups of masked gunmen attacked an oil well located in the area of Hadaba in Hadramout province, causing a powerful explosion and spills of oil, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"The huge blast targeted an oil well at Block 9 operated by Canada's Calvalley Petroleum company," the source said.

"The actual damage on the oil line is yet to be assessed by the technicians there," he added.

Militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot are believed to be behind the pipeline bombing, according to the official.

Local leaders of the al-Qaida terrorist group were not available for comments.

The country's transitional government, which depends on oil exports for up to 70 percent of its budget, is struggling to launch a UN-backed reconciliation national dialogue by the end of this month to reunite the divided nation. Endi

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