Yemeni forces shelled a suspected Al-Qaeda hide-out, killing 12 militants.

Yemeni forces shelled a suspected Al-Qaeda hide-out in the restive southern city of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, killing 12 militants, a local official told reporters on Thursday.

"Army units fired artillery shells from (the adjacent) village of Al-Kud and from Al-Wahda stadium (on the city's outskirts) at a house where Al-Qaeda gunmen were hiding," said the official who spoke from the nearby town of Jaar, an Al-Qaeda stronghold.

"Twelve militants were killed, among them an Egyptian and a Bahraini" in the attack that took place on Wednesday, he added.

Witnesses also said militants on Wednesday severed the hand of a man they accused of stealing electrical cables and robbing homes in Jaar.

The punishment was carried out in a large field in front of dozens of residents summoned to watch, the witnesses said.

Since May, Al-Qaeda-linked militants have taken control of several towns in Abyan as 10 straight months of protests against Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime have weakened central government control.

Despite months of clashes, government troops have so far been unable to take back full control of Abyan's towns and cities.

Ali Saleh, in power for 33 years, signed a Gulf-brokered deal on Wednesday under which he was to hand all powers to his vice president and hold office on an honorary basis for the next 90 days.