Five Yemeni soldiers have been killed after gunmen ambushed a military convoy in the south of the country.
The attack on an army vehicle took place in Ataq, capital of Shabwa province in Anwar al-Awlaqi.
The attack is the third by a resurgent regional arm of al-Qaeda against the Yemeni government in five weeks.
'There was an ambush targeting the soldiers' vehicle and five were killed and a sixth was wounded. There is suspicion that al Qaeda was behind the operation,' an official in the southern province of Shabwa said.
A security official said that the gunmen escaped after the ambush 'despite the massive presence of security forces in Ataq and checkpoints set up around the city.'
Elsewhere, at least 19 people were killed in the north of the country in a battle between Shia rebels and pro-government tribesmen overnight.
The northern violence marked the deadliest day of fighting since a truce was sealed in February to end a civil war.
'There were very violent confrontations. Nine soldiers and pro-government tribesmen were killed as well as about ten Houthis' a local official in the Harf Sufyan region said.
'It remains very tense after the failure of efforts to stop the fighting between the two sides,' he added.
Yemen's ruling party's official website, almotamar.net, quoted Shabwa security chief General Ahmed al-Maqdashi as saying al-Qaeda was to blame.
