REPUBLIKA.CO.ID SANAA -- Fifteen schoolgirls were killed in Yemen when their bus was caught up in a car bomb attack targeting a Shiite militia leader by suspected Al-Qaeda militants on Tuesday, officials said.

Another 10 people also died in the blast outside the home of Abdallah Idriss, a leader of the Shiite rebels known as Huthis, in the flashpoint town of Rada in central Yemen, a security source said.

A medical official confirmed at least 25 people had died.

The attack "bore the hallmarks" of Al-Qaeda, the security source told AFP.

The United States considers the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, to be the global jihadist network's most dangerous affiliate.

Also blaming Al-Qaeda, the Yemeni defence ministry condemned "this cowardly terrorist attack on the home of a citizen and a school bus".

The Sunni extremist AQAP has yet to claim responsibility, but last month its military chief Qassem al-Rimi vowed to launch fierce attacks against the Shiite militia.

"To the Huthis we say: brace yourselves for horrors that will make the hair of children turn white," he said at the time.

Yemen has been rocked by instability since the Shiite fighters seized control of the capital Sanaa on September 21.

The Huthis have since expanded their presence in western and central Yemen, but have been met by fierce resistance from Sunni tribes and Al-Qaeda militants.

The bombing comes after at least six Huthi militants were killed Friday in an attack on their checkpoint in Baida province, according to tribal sources.

Al-Qaeda claimed at the time that it had killed dozens of people in several attacks in Rada, which is located in Baida province.

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