Three Yemeni soldiers were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomber managed to reach an army checkpoint with his car after a helicopter gunship destroyed the car of a fellow attacker, the military said.

Three Yemeni soldiers were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomber managed to reach an army checkpoint with his car after a helicopter gunship destroyed the car of a fellow attacker, the military said.

In a clash that followed the bombing on the outskirts of Qatan town in southeastern Hadramawt province, four suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed, the same official said.

The official said a helicopter had fired a missile at an explosives-laden car driven by a suicide bomber, destroying it some 500 meters (547 yards) before reaching the checkpoint.

But a second suicide bomber sped his way towards the same checkpoint and detonated his explosives, killing the soldiers.

Gunmen then attacked the position.