Suspected Al-Qaeda militants killed 15 Yemeni soldiers on Friday when they attacked a military checkpoint in the city of Shibam in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, a security source said.

Suspected Al-Qaeda militants killed 15 Yemeni soldiers on Friday when they attacked a military checkpoint in the city of Shibam in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, a security source said.

"Unknown armed men suspected to be from Al-Qaeda attacked an army checkpoint in Shibam, killing 15 soldiers and wounding several others," the official added.

He added there were also casualties among the attackers, but "they were able to withdraw with their dead and wounded". 

He said that "Al-Qaeda took advantage of tension in Hadramawt province to carry out this cowardly attack".

Hadramawt is a stronghold for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), viewed by Washington as the most deadly affiliate of the global extremist network, and where security forces care regularly targeted.