A car bomb explosion hit a Yemeni Shiite convoy in the country's northern province of al-Jouf on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people including the attackers, a local councilman told Xinhua.

"We have learned that 15 leaders of Houthi-led Shiite rebels were killed and the driver of the car bomb was also killed in the attack that targeted the Shiite religious convoy in Motoun district in al-Jouf," councilman Hussain al-Hemiary said.

The attack also left about 12 others wounded, he added.

An official of the Interior Ministry in Sanaa, the capital, told Xinhua that the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

"We have reports that al-Qaida has expanded its operations towards northern areas locating in the Yemeni-Saudi joint border long ago and what happened today was not the first operation of al- Qaida," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Yemeni air force has once launched attacks targeting the al- Qaida military leader Kasim al-Raimi there in al-Jouf," he added.

Local media said the car bomb hit the convoy of Shiite rebels who were preparing to mark Eid Al-Ghadeer, one of the Shiite religious days.

Sunni sect does not believe in "Eid Al-Ghadeer" and has been engaging in a dispute with Shiites over this and other Shiite beliefs, according to local media.

On Tuesday, six people were killed and three others were wounded in clashes between Shiite rebels and pro-government tribesmen in the northern province of Saada, according to a local councilman.

Yemen has witnessed sporadic battles since 2004 between government troops and rebels. The government has been accusing the rebels of seeking to re-establish the clerical rule overthrown by the 1962 revolution that created the Yemeni republic.

On Aug. 26, the Yemeni government and Shiite rebels signed an agreement in Doha to cement the February fragile ceasefire, which was struck to end a six-year sporadic conflict. However, both sides repeatedly trade accusations over breaching the truce which still holds so far.

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