10 Yemeni soldiers and 18 suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed Wednesday in confrontations in southern and southeastern provinces, security officials and the defense ministry said.

10 Yemeni soldiers and 18 suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed Wednesday in confrontations in southern and southeastern provinces, security officials and the defense ministry said.

Five soldiers were killed in an ambush in the southern province of Shabwa in the third attack of its kind this month blamed by security officials on the extremists.

"Gunmen probably belonging to Al-Qaeda opened fire on an army vehicle in Habban in Shabwa province, killing five soldiers and wounding another," a security official said.

He added that the attackers then escaped.

Meanwhile, two soldiers were killed and two others wounded in a clash with gunmen in Sayun, in the southeastern Hadramawt province, another security official said.

The official said that the "Qaeda gunmen" confronted forces from the 135th Armoured Brigade on their way towards the city, which is a stronghold of Al-Qaeda.    

The army is reinforcing its presence on the outskirts of Sayun in preparation for an imminent operation against militants, the official said.

The defense ministry said "18 members of Al-Qaeda" were killed in this confrontation, adding that several others were captured, including a Saudi militant.