At least eight soldiers were killed and four others injured when al-Qaida militants attacked a military post in Yemen's Marib province early on Tuesday, security officials said.
The officials quoted commander of the post as saying the militants were on four pickups when they attacked the soldiers in the al-Shabkar area.
"Tens of militants armed with various weapons were onboard the pickups and after the attack they headed to Jawf province," he was quoted as saying.
The commander also said five al-Qaida militants were killed when the forces tried to repel the attack, it added.
"The militants took the bodies of their victims and buried them immediately," he continued, according to the source.
The attack comes as the army is intensifying the war on al-Qaida in Abyan province, where dozens were killed on Monday.
At least 40 militants were reported dead when the forces and citizens repelled a fierce attack to occupy the Lawder city.
Meantime, a local official in Abyan denied the locals in Lawder have fled their homes, saying in a statement the battles with the militants took place outside the city and the people are safe in it.
In June, al-Qaida seized some towns in Abyan and declared them as Islamic emirates, and since then the militants have been fighting the army.