15 people were killed and other 43 were injured in clashes that were broken out between Yemeni security forces and gunmen dressed in police uniforms at the interior ministry in Sanaa on Tuesday.

15 people were killed and other 43 were injured in clashes that were broken out between Yemeni security forces and gunmen dressed in police uniforms at the interior ministry in Sanaa on Tuesday.

"The number of dead has increased to 15, in addition to 43 wounded," a medic said, while a security official confirmed the toll, saying it included one dead civilian.

The rest of the dead were gunmen or soldiers, including members of the First Armored Division, which had dispatched a company to protect the ministry, the official said, adding that 16 soldiers were also captured by the gunmen who took control of the ministry.

The gunmen had worked unofficially in Yemen's police during the rule of now ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in February after a year of protests.
They have been surrounding the ministry since Sunday demanding that they be enrolled back into the force.

They stormed the ministry in the afternoon, backed by members of the central security services, which remains under the leadership of Saleh's nephew, Yahya Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, a police official said.
"They took control of the ministry," the official said.

The exchange of Kalashnikov fire was heard intermittently throughout the day, witnesses said.