ADEN: Yemen's government says 52 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing and a subsequent attack by gunmen on the Defense Ministry in the capital, Sanaa.

A statement by the Supreme Security Commission, which is led by the president, says 167 people also have also been wounded in Thursday's attack, the deadliest in Sanaa in years.

They say casualties included soldiers, staff at a military hospital inside the Defense Ministry's downtown complex and civilians.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings and complex attacks are the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

The Defense Ministry issued a brief statement confirming the attack.

It said ''most'' of the gunmen had been killed, but did not say how many there were. It did not give any other details.

The officials said the blast badly damaged a hospital inside the complex and blew out windows and the doors of homes and offices in the immediate vicinity.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists.

Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed was in Washington for talks Thursday.