Government officials confirmed on Sunday that at least three soldiers had been killed in clashes against “unidentified gunmen” in the province of al Baydha, located south of the capital, Sana’a.

Speaking to reporters officials in Sana’a explained that a group of armed men targeted an army checkpoint in the eastern outskirts of al-Baydha (270 Km south of Sana’a) in the early hours of Sunday, forcing soldiers to engage in order to protect their positions.

So far the Interior Ministry has confirmed that its losses amount to three dead soldiers and four casualties. All men were immediately transported to the nearest hospital where they are being treated and cared for.

While officials were not allowed to comment on any potential terror links, several admitted that the possibility of an al-Qaeda-run attack against a military checkpoint remained of course an avenue the Defense and Interior ministries will have to look at seriously.

A well-known stronghold of al-Qaeda, al-Baydha province has seen its fair share of terror-related violence since 2011 uprising, when al-Qaeda militants exploited Yemen’s power vacuum to its advantage by spreading out its network and tribal alliances.

Xinhua reported on Sunday that sources within the military had revealed that “heavily-armed assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades at the checkpoint located in a residential area in al-Bayda province, leaving several soldiers killed or injured.”

Xinhua sources also alleged that the armed forces are soon to launch a widespread offensive in al-Baydha in order to dislodge dissidents and return peace to the area.