Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- At least seven Yemeni soldiers were killed and nine others wounded after suicide car bomb attacks on a military base in the city of Seyoun in southern Yemen on Tuesday.

Two car bombs detonated at the military headquarters in Hadramout province in the northeast of the country, Yemeni intelligence officials told CNN.

Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda affiliate, claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The first vehicle targeted the main gate of the compound and the second targeted the building inside," it said in a statement.

Medical officials said the death toll could rise.

"A number of the injured are in critical condition," a medic at Seyoun General Hospital said. "Some of the injured were not close to the explosions but it was a powerful attack."