Aden, Jul 6 (IANS): At least eight soldiers were killed and 10 injured when two car bombs went off at the main gate of a military base in Yemen's temporary capital Aden on Wednesday, an official said.

The two suicide attacks targeted the Sulaban special forces camp near Aden's airport followed by heavy clashes that continued for about an hour, Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying.

"Scores of assailants wearing Yemeni Army uniforms launched a well-planned attack on the military base," an army official said.

"The attackers used rocket-propelled grenades and attempted to storm the military base from different directions," he said.

Witnesses said Saudi-led helicopters intervened and air-covered security forces during the confrontations with the attackers. Medical sources said the toll could rise further.

Yemeni government forces launched anti-terror offensives and drove out scores of gunmen linked to the Al Qaeda and the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State from key neighbourhoods and government compounds in Lahj and Abyan provinces in the last two months.

The pro-government forces backed by UAE warplanes have continued to make significant gains and recaptured key areas from Al Qaeda militants in the province of Hadramout during the past weeks.

However, Aden and other provinces controlled by the internationally recognised government still witness a state of chaos and lawlessness.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al Qaeda militancy in the Middle East and the affiliate of the Islamic State.