Tens of al-Qaida militants were killed in the continuous battles in south Yemen including Somali, Saudi and Pakistani leaders, 26sep.net, the mouthpiece of the Defense Ministry, reported on Wednesday.
"A number of foreign terrorist leaders from Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were killed when the army with support from locals including popular committees targeted al-Qaida positions and fighters in the Lawder town," the website reported, quoting a local official.
Among the leaders killed in fierce battles with the forces and people in Lawder were Imad al-Manshabi and Dradish Tahir, it continued.
Dozens of al-Qaida militants and the Sharia Supporters, Ansar al-Sharia, have been killed in the town in the past few days.
The militants retreated and their plans to occupy Lawder have been thwarted.
In June, al-Qaida occupied tow towns in Abyan including the capital Zinjibar and since then they have been fighting the army inside their strongholds.
More recently, AQAP, al-Qaida's Yemen-based branch which was founded in 2009 when the Yemeni and Saudi terrorist wings merged, has announced plans to expand its presence and target key installations.

The US is providing direct support to the Yemeni forces to fight the militants, with some of them killed in drone strikes.