At least 13 members of the the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch and 10 soldiers were killed during heavy clashes in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday, a military official told Xinhua.

The military official in Abyan said on condition of anonymity that the fighting broke out near al-Qaida hideouts in the Marakisha mountains of Abyan province.

The Yemeni military source said the newly-trained troops launched a surprise attack on al-Qaida hideouts in the area, sparking a gun battle that continued for two hours and 45 minutes.

"The troops supported by the Saudi-led Arab coalition will continue to conduct pursuit operations and intensify the conduct of military operations to kick al-Qaida militants out of Abyan's mountainous areas," he added.

A medical source confirmed that more than 13 al-Qaida gunmen and about 10 soldiers were killed during the armed confrontations between the two sides.

Elsewhere in Abyan province, suspected al-Qaida militants ambushed three vehicles of the government forces in the coastal town of Shoqra, leaving about 8 soldiers injured.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces launched anti-terror offensives and drived out scores of gunmen linked to the al-Qaida and the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State from key neighborhoods and government compounds in Lahj and Abyan provinces during the past few months.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009. It had claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions.

It took advantage of the current security vacuum and the ongoing civil war to expand its influence and seize more territories in Yemen's southern part.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians.

source: Xinhua