Dozens of al-Qaida militants attacked a post of Yemeni army forces on Saturday, sparking deadly clashes that killed eight soldiers and wounded 13 others in the southern province of Abyan, a senior army officer told Xinhua.
Up to 25 al-Qaida militants attacked an army post of the 39th Armored Brigade on the outskirts of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, sparking a fierce battle that killed eight soldiers and injured 13 others, the local army officer said on condition of anonymity.
"Heavy fighting continued until Saturday evening, as the army troops backed by the counter-terrorism forces are searching for terrorists in the neighborhoods of Zinjibar," the officer said.
Medics at a military hospital in Basuhib in the neighboring Aden province said they received bodies of eight soldiers.
The al-Qaida spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone interview with Xinhua. He did not mention any insurgent casualties.
Meanwhile, at least two civilians were killed and two others wounded in Abyan's Luader town on Saturday after mortar shells fired by al-Qaida fighters landed into a residential neighborhood, witnesses told Xinhua.
Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, along with three other towns had been under the al-Qaida's control for almost a year.
Taking advantage of the one-year-long political conflicts in Yemen, the resurgent Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, locally known as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), has taken control of several cities and swathes across the country's restive southern provinces.