A suicide car bomber killed 10 Yemeni army officers, one civilian and wounded many others Sunday after targeting a military police building in the southern coastal city of Mukallah, a local security official said.

The blast appeared to be a revenge attack by al-Qaida over the Yemeni army's campaign to crush Islamist insurgents in two large southern provinces.

This has ousted many militants from towns they first seized during mass unrest in 2011, jeopardizing national security and posing a serious threat to major oil producer Saudi Arabia next door.