"Gunmen shot dead three pilots with the rank of colonel north of Huta (the provincial capital) as they were heading towards Al-Anad air base," said an army official said on Wednesday.
The official speaking on the condition of anonymity added that the assaulters were "suspected of belonging to Al-Qaeda."
Al-Qaeda loyalists have carried out a spate of deadly attacks against Yemeni security forces since President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, successor to toppled dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, came to power in February 2012.