Gunmen killed at least 16 soldiers in an attack on a military checkpoint in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout on Friday afternoon, a government official told Xinhua.

"The ambush took place on the road of Shibam city in Hadramout province. Army troops at the checkpoint came under heavy gunfire, which left 16 to 18 soldiers dead," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

Two high-ranking army officers were among the killed, the official added.

A military source confirmed to Xinhua that "several soldiers were killed and others wounded after unknown assailants launched an armed attack using rocket-propelled grenades against a key army outpost in Hadramout."

He said the militants fled the area shortly after the attack. The security authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Witnesses near the scene told Xinhua that "three or four militants raided the checkpoint, located in western suburb of Shibam city at around 2:30 p.m. local time. As a result of the attack, dozens of army members were killed."

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, however the militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot were blamed for a series of assassination attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.

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