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Gunmen believed to be from the al-Qaida group attacked a military checkpoint positioned in the Ataq city, the provincial capital of Shabwa, injuring at least eight army soldiers, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.
"The army soldiers exchanged gunfire with the assailants for more than half an hour before they fled the scene by motorbikes," the official said.
Another military source near the scene told Xinhua anonymously that "two terrorists were killed in the shootout with the army troops."
Shabwa, some 458 km southeast of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, is considered to be a stronghold of hundreds of militants from the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Meanwhile, the Yemeni Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday that unknown gunmen shot dead a member of the security forces in the southern province of al-Dhalea, without giving further details.
Earlier this week, dozens of al-Qaida militants attacked an army outpost in the neighboring southern province of Abyan, killing more than 180 soldiers and looting the base along with its heavy weaponry, tanks and armored vehicles, according to senior army officials.
Suicide car bombings and violent attacks against the army have increased over the past two weeks. A deadly suicide bombing targeting the presidential palace in the southern province of Hadramout killed nearly 30 soldiers of the elite Republican Guard forces. The al-Qaida wing claimed responsibility for the attack in the following day.
The AQAP attacks underscore the challenges facing the Yemeni government, which is tasked with restoring security and stability to Yemen and putting an end to the growing influence of al-Qaida that threatens the daily oil shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
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