As many as 68 al-Qaida prisoners escaped Wednesday from a central jail in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, through meters-long tunnel they dug over the past months, head of intelligence body in Mukalla city Abdullah al-Jirazie told Xinhua.

"The al-Qaida fugitives also attacked some of the security soldiers outside the prison in Mukalla city, the provincial capital city of Hadramout, killing one soldier and injuring two others," al-Jirazie said, denying that the prison was attacked by armed al-Qaida militants, but by the escaped prisoners.

Earlier the day, another provincial official said the prison was attacked by al-Qaida militants wielding heavy machine guns and grenades, saying they managed to free dozens of prisoners.

Local residents told Xinhua that the security forces with armored vehicles were heavily deployed in the city after the prison break.

A number of Yemen's southern and eastern provinces experienced during the past two months an active and wide presence of the al- Qaida, which was exploiting the precarious situation of the country.