A bomb struck a Yemeni police convoy in southeastern province of Hadramout on Wednesday, killing five policemen and injuring four others, a military official told Xinhua.
"An explosive device went off near one of the vehicles of police convoy on the main road in Seiyun town in Hadramout province, killing five policemen and injuring four others right on the spot," the military official said on condition of anonymity.
Another military source said that two officers were among the wounded in the blast that was detonated remotely when the military vehicle came close to a checkpoint.
The Yemeni army and police forces have closed the area for investigation, according to the sources. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch are active in the area and often attack government forces and installations.
Yemeni military officials have blamed gunmen with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.
AQAP, which emerged in January 2009 and also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, is considered one of the greatest threats to Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.