Seven Yemeni soldiers were killed in the southeastern province of Hadramout during an armed attack by the al-Qaida suspects on Sunday, a security official told Xinhua.

A group of unidentified gunmen believed to be from the al-Qaida militants raided a military checkpoint of the security forces in the Shibam district in Hadramout, killing at least seven soldiers at the scene, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

The attack triggered fierce clashes between government troops and al-Qaida militants in the region and lasted more than half an hour. Three terrorists were injured before they had managed to flee the area on two vehicles, the official said.

The country's Defense Ministry confirmed the militant attack in a brief statement posted on its website, blaming militants of the al-Qaida terrorist group for masterminding the operation against the troops.

Sunday's armed attack came just a day after militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch seized a military site of the army forces during deadly confrontations with the troops in the suburbs of the southern Lahj province, leaving at least 20 army soldiers and eight militants killed, according to military sources.

The Yemeni army and security forces have recently been attacked by the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the restive southern regions. Hundreds of the government troops were either killed or injured during deadly suicide bombings and fierce battles and with the al-Qaida insurgents in the flashpoint province of Abyan earlier this month.

Taking advantage of the one-year-long of political conflicts, the resurgent AQAP, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), has taken control of several cities and swathes across the country's restive southern provinces.