About three pro-government soldiers were killed and three others injured when suspected al-Qaida gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Friday, a military official told Xinhua.

The military official said that scores of al-Qaida gunmen launched an armed attack on pro-government soldiers positioned at a checkpoint in the entrance of Ahwar area in southern Abyan province, former al-Qaida main stronghold.

"But, the attack was successfully foiled and about three soldiers were killed and three others injured, " the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

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

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

More than 6,000 people have been killed in ground battles and air strikes since then, half of them civilians.

Source: XINHUA