Aden, April 2 (IANS): Gunmen stormed a Yemeni military base in the southern port city of Aden Wednesday morning, killing five soldiers and injuring several others, police said.

The gunmen, who are suspected of having links to the Al Qaeda, invaded the headquarters of the Fourth Military Region in Aden and launched coordinated attacks on the soldiers tasked with guarding the base, a police source told Xinhua.

The source confirmed that five soldiers, including high-ranking military personnel, died in the attack. An army source described the attack as "bloody".

Witnesses near the scene said that "a powerful explosion rocked the military base located in the Tawahi district in Aden, which was followed by heavy exchange of gunfire".

An officer of the military intelligence forces in Aden confirmed the attack but claimed it was repelled.

"A group of a well-armed terrorists attempted to gain access to the military leadership headquarters in Aden. However, the army troops have successfully repelled the attackers and inflicted serious casualties on them," the officer said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and Yemeni government authorities were yet to comment.

Last month, Al Qaeda militants killed 24 Yemeni soldiers of the special forces in an attack on military barracks in the southeast province of Hadramout.

Militants of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda offshoot were blamed by the government for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.

The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which emerged in January 2009, is considered the most strategic threat to the Yemeni government and neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.