Warplanes continued pounding al-Qaeda whereabouts in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, killing at least 18 militants and wounding dozens others, local security official said on Sunday."Army aircrafts bombed on Sunday the hideouts of Ansar al-Sharia, al-Qaeda wing in Yemen, in Yasouq Mountain and al-Maniasa area, located in southern Lawdar, and in areas southwestern Lawdar, killing 11 terrorists and destroying military vehicles claimed by al-Qaeda in their battles with the army troops in the south," the security official were quoted by several local media outlets as saying.Two militants were also killed when the army planes bombarded their places in areas on the outskirts of Abyan.Another Local security official told Yemen Portal, a local online newspaper, that the army troops and the tribal committees, who joined the fight against al-Qaeda after the army was outmaneuvered by the terror network for many times, made a significant headway in the ongoing fierce battles against the militants in Zinjubar, the provincial capital of Abyan.Zinjubar has been taken over by al-Qaeda in May of 2011, when the militant group took control of the unrest triggered by the revolution across the country.The government forces are approaching the governorship building in the city and started combing the area in search for the fundamentalists who have beat a retreat toward Ja'ar town, their old stronghold, according to the unnamed security official. Army troops from the 39th Armored Brigade advanced in the eastern part of Zinjuabar and took control of the Central Prison after they carried out painful strikes against the militants, added the official."Five militants were killed in the battles with the army troops," the official said, adding that a soldier was killed and other 13 were wounded in the clashes.The wounded soldiers were raced to Basuhib Military Hospital in the port city of Aden.