Yemeni soldiers attacked al-Qaeda positions in Zinjibar, killing seven suspected militants.

Yemeni soldiers attacked al-Qaeda positions in Zinjibar, killing seven suspected militants.

"The army fired artillery shells at Al-Qaeda positions in Zinjibar" late Wednesday night, a military official said on Thursday.

A local official in the nearby town of Jaar meanwhile said that "the bodies of seven Al-Qaeda fighters" were transferred to the militant stronghold for burial.

Wednesday attack follows deadliest Al-Qaeda attacks on Yemeni security forces in the southern outskirts of Zinjibar on Sunday that killed 185 troops.

Al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, said in a statement it took "73 soldiers" captive and seized a tank, anti-aircraft weapons, a rocket launcher, rockets and 11 Kalashnikov assault rifles, as well as three military vehicles and "a large amount of ammunition."

Yemen's newly formed cabinet at an emergency meeting late Wednesday condemned Al-Qaeda's escalating attacks in the country's mostly lawless south and urged the divided and battered security forces to "unite in the face of terrorism and extremism...that threatens Yemen's security and stability."

The ministers in a statement released on the official SABA news agency cautioned they would not hesitate "to punish ... those (members of the security forces) who neglect their duties."

The government warning was triggered by allegations that Sunday's assault on the army base in Kud was an "inside job" and that some soldiers had collaborated with the extremists.