The militants attacked a checkpoint near the Shabwa province village of Bayhan with automatic rifles, also wounding a number of soldiers, the official said.

The assault came hours after a drone strike killed three Al-Qaeda suspects late on Wednesday as they were travelling in a vehicle in the Wadi Abida area, east of Sanaa, tribal sources said.

The United States is the only country operating drones over Yemen, but US officials rarely acknowledge the covert operations.

The drone program has been defended by both the White House and Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, in the face of protests by human rights groups over the civilian death toll.

Washington regards the militants’ network's Yemen affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as its most dangerous and has stepped up drone strikes against its leaders this year.

Around 60 suspected militants were killed in a wave of  strikes against suspected AQAP bases and training camps in mid-April.

The strikes came shortly before the Yemeni army launched a major ground offensive against Al-Qaeda in Shabwa and neighboring Abyan province in a bid to expel it from smaller towns and villages that escaped a previous sweep in 2012.

Troops backed by local militia have entered a series of towns but analysts say the advances could be the result of a tactical retreat by the militants in coordination with local tribes.

NJF/NJF