The toll in Wednesday's Al Qaeda attack against Yemen's army headquarters in the port city of Aden risen to 16, a government official and medics said.
"Two coordinated attacks that targeted the headquarters of the Fourth Military Region in Aden this morning killed 16 people and injured dozens of others including civilians and passers-by," Xinhua quoted the government official as saying but requesting anonymity.
Fierce clashes that followed the attack left about six Al Qaeda members, five soldiers and five civilians killed, including women and children, the source said.
Local medics confirmed the casualties, adding: "Several injured soldiers who are in critical conditions have been evacuated for medical treatment to the Yemeni capital Sana'a while the others are in hospitals in Aden."
Scores of masked attackers from the Al Qaeda group stormed the army headquarters in the coastal district of Tawahi, army officers said.
The army headquarters was sealed off by armoured vehicles and heavy reinforcements from special security forces in Aden as criminal police officers were searching for evidence.
