Eight soldiers were killed in a suspected al-Qaeda attack on a military checkpoint in Yemen's restive southern Abyan province on Saturday, a security source said, dpa reported.
The militants, armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, struck when the soldiers were sitting for an evening meal outside the town of Ja'ar, the source told the German Press Agency dpa.
"All the eight soldiers manning the checkpoint were killed immediately," the source, who asked not to be named, said.
The attackers fled the scene.
Abyan has been the scene of frequent al-Qaeda attacks on security and army targets in recent months.