A suicide car bomber has attacked a security intelligence post in southeastern Yemen, injuring two military guards, an official said, blaming al-Qaeda.

In Saturday's attack, the car exploded at the entrance of the post in a residential neighbourhood of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, causing damage to it and other buildings, said a security official.

Guards opened fire on the car driven by an "al-Qaeda suicide bomber" as it approached the entrance, the official said, speaking to the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.

The Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is regarded by the United States as the network's most dangerous franchise and has been subjected to an intensifying drone war this year.

Yemen's army launched an offensive earlier on Tuesday against hideouts of the al-Qaeda affiliate, mainly in the south where the fighters are strongly rooted.

On Friday, senior AQAP member Qassem al-Rimi threatened in an online video to strike back at any party involved in the drone campaign that has killed dozens of suspected fighters.

The bombing came hours after gunmen shot dead an army officer as he came out of a grocery shop in Aden, a major city in southern Yemen, which has seen a spike in attacks on security forces.