Ten soldiers were reportedly killed and 19 wounded Friday in two separate attacks by gunmen in Yemen's north- eastern Marib province, according to the military-run website 26sep.net, dpa reported.
The clashes were triggered as militants linked to the terrorist network al-Qaeda ambushed military forces using heavy machine guns, Marib provintial security director Mohamed Mansour al-Ghadra was quoted as saying.
Al-Qaeda's cell in Marib is active and has been targeted by US drones as part of Yemeni-US cooperation against terrorism.
Yemen has been rattled by popular protests for more than two months by demonstrators seeking to end President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule.