At least 12 al-Qaida militants and three soldiers of the army forces were killed in fierce battles between the two sides on Thursday in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, a local military official told Xinhua.

Armed clashes erupted between army forces and al-Qaida militants around the city of Zinjibar as the former tried to regain control of the seized area by al-Qaida since last month, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.

The army forces made progress in the crawling towards Zinjibar city, the official said.

Units of the army forces besieged the Zinjibar city from all sides and can wage a decisive attack during the coming hours, he said, adding that they may regain control of Zinjibar during the coming hours.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) escalated attacks and operations targeting military cross-points and sites in south Yemen, which resulted in the killing and injuring of dozens of soldiers.