A Yemeni military base and an army checkpoint were targeted by two car bombs in southeastern province of Hadramout on Tuesday morning, leaving 10 soldiers killed and 12 others wounded, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

"The suicide car bomb exploded at the main gate of the military base at around 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), 322 km away from Mukalla, the provincial capital city of Hadramout province, when high-ranking military commanders were attending a meeting there. Six soldiers killed in the first blast," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The bomb also caused damage to the military building and the surrounding houses, the source added.

The second explosion occurred when a suicide car bomb struck a key army checkpoint in Seiyun town, killing four army soldiers and wounded about 12 others, the source said.

An intelligence source in Hadramout told Xinhua by phone that two leaders of the First Regional Military Command survived the car bombing unhurt.

The security forces have cordoned off the bombing sites and launched an investigation, according to the local security source.

Local residents said a heavy exchange of fire followed the two huge blasts that shaked the ground of their town.

No group has claimed responsibility yet for the incident, but al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are always blamed for carrying out such attacks against Yemeni troops.

AQAP, which emerged in January 2009 and also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, is considered one of the greatest threats to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Endit

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