Clashes erupted between the army forces and al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southern province of Lahj on Wednesday night, leaving four soldiers killed and two others seriously injured, a local military official told Xinhua.
Two groups of al-Qaida militants launched the attack using heavy machine guns and fired rocket-propelled grenades at a military checkpoint in al-Habilien district, killing four soldiers and injuring two others, the official told Xinhua, who asked to remain anonymous.
Al-Qaida militants carried out the attack aiming at seizing control on that military checkpoint after controlling a military site in the area, he added.
Meanwhile, local residents told Xinhua that two al-Qaida militants were injured during the clashes.Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) escalated its attacks and operations targeting a number of military cross-points and sites in south Yemen which resulted in the killing and injuring of dozens of soldiers.