The convoy was en route from a military base in the city to the restive neighboring province of Abyan to back up the army that is battling Al-Qaeda militants. Yemen's Ministry of Defense blamed local Al-Qaeda offspring for the attack.

The sources said the blast took place near the gate of the camp as a column of vehicles loaded with troops and supplies was leaving. Among the dead were two senior officers, the sources added.

"This terrorist attack wouldn't deter our security forces from carrying out their duty of cleaning areas that were taken by these elements ...," a security source was quoted by the ministry's website as saying.

The sound of the explosion could be heard for miles around. The blast scattered the bodies of burned soldiers and the attacker around the scene of the explosion. Following the attack, the police sealed off the area and prevented journalists from taking photos.

The attack comes after another car bomb killed a British marine expert in the city on Wednesday. The fortified city has recently been hit by a series of car bomb assassinations of high-profile security officials. Last month, the defense minister said some armed terrorist cells had managed to infiltrate into the city, but that the military would set up a tight security belt to make the city safe.

The militants control two cities in Abyan province and have held on to them in the face of numerous airstrikes and a ground offensive by government forces.

Thousands of people have been displaced by fighting in Zinjibar between security forces and the militants. Ayad Al-Shabwani, a leader of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was killed during fighting near Zinjibar on Tuesday. At least 12 soldiers have been killed and dozens wounded since in battles around the same area, according to officials.

Yemen's Deputy Information Minister Abdo Al-Janadi said Thursday that the United States had provided logistical support to the 25th Mechanized Brigade, which was until recently besieged by the militants in Zinjibar.

Meanwhile, acting President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi said Sunday that the government would strike a deal this week with the opposition that would end the political stalemate in the country. "Based on the meetings with the opposition and the international envoys and ambassadors, we could reach a road map for solving all problems," he was quoted by the state-run Saba news agency as saying.

Hadi met Sunday with the US ambassador in Yemen, Gerald M. Feierstein, who discussed with him the political crisis and the recent diplomatic efforts to end the crisis based on the GCC initiative, Saba reported.

Earlier, Feierstein met with Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmer, the powerful army leader who defected to the opposition, and explored the possibility of finding a solution to the crisis.

The United States fears Al-Qaeda will take advantage of the unrest to expand its haven in the country and plot attacks against the West.