A series of attacks in the eastern Yemeni city of Seiyun has killed at least thirteen people, local officials have said.

A suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car into the entrance of an army base, killing four soldiers in the city in Hadramawt province - a territory with some of the country's dwindling oil reserves.

Another attacker was killed in clashes that followed, Reuters news agency reported.

At around the same time, four attackers and two soldiers were killed in a raid on the city's airport before forces regained control of the facility.

The assault took place as a Yemen Airways plane landed, a military official said. Troops scrambled armoured vehicles to confront the attackers and evacuate the flight's passengers in army buses through the northern gate of the airport, AFP news agency reported.

A civilian woman was also killed in an attack at a nearby agricultural plant.

Further assaults

Washington and Gulf countries are worried that further instability in Yemen could allow al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group's regional wing, to consolidate its position and launch attacks overseas.

AQAP and allied local fighters have staged attacks on government forces across the country, including many assassinations and car bombs in Hadramawt.

The province and other parts of the former nation of South Yemen have also been rocked by mass protests by a separatist movement.

On Tuesday fighters launched a pre-dawn assault on Sayun, in which they attacked police and army bases and public buildings with suicide bombers, rocket-launchers and heavy machine guns.

Before withdrawing, they also ransacked the main post office and two banks.The assault killed 15 soldiers and police. Twelve attackers also died, three of them suicide bombers.