Aden (Yemen), Jun 12 (IANS): Two Yemeni soldiers were killed and five others injured in an attack carried out by militants of the al-Qaeda terrorist group in the country's oil-rich southern province of Shabwa, a government official said.

"Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists riding in a vehicle attacked a checkpoint of the pro-government forces in As Said district of Shabwa province," the local government official said on condition of anonymity on Sunday.

The al-Qaeda gunmen fired heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, during their assault on the security checkpoint, he noted, adding two military vehicles were destroyed in the attack.

The Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is seen as one of the most dangerous branches of al-Qaeda and has been active in war-ravaged Yemen for years, Xinhua news agency reported.

The terrorist group has taken advantage of Yemen's civil war and the country's power vacuum to launch attacks on military and government targets.

In an effort to tackle the growing terror threat, government forces backed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have carried out several large-scale military operations on al-Qaida hideouts in recent months.

However, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have failed to eliminate the terrorist group hidden in the mountainous areas of the country's southern provinces.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthi rebels fighting against the internationally-recognised government and its allies, which include a Saudi Arabia-led coalition.