ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Two soldiers or Yemen's newly-recruited forces were killed during an ambush set up by suspected al-Qaida militants in the country's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday, a security official told Xinhua.
"Suspected militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch set up an armed ambush and killed two pro-government soldiers in Al Mahfid district, southeast of Abyan," the local security source said on condition of anonymity.
The ambush targeted a military vehicle carrying food supplies for the pro-government soldiers stationed in the area, he said.
Earlier this week, members of the al-Qaida group blew up a residential building belonging to a commander of the local security forces in Al Mahfid.
Other local security sources based in Abyan confirmed to Xinhua that activities of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch have increased recently in Abyan.
Sporadic armed attacks are targeting the military checkpoints of the pro-government forces stationed in Abyan's areas.
The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.
The AQAP, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country.
