Aden (Yemen), Mar 19 (IANS): At least 18 terrorists were killed and dozens of others injured after Yemeni warplanes bombed several bases of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the country's Abyan province Sunday.

Heavy shelling by the Yemeni military aircrafts and US naval vessels on the sea hit the Al-Qaeda bases in and around the city of Jaar, Abayn province's second largest city, killing at least 18 terrorists and injuring dozens of others, Xinhua quoted a local official as saying on condition of anonymity.

Heavy shelling damaged some residential buildings of the city, a witness said.

Earlier, in a separate incident, Al-Qaeda Sunday claimed responsibility for killing a US citizen working as an English teacher at a Swedish-run institute in Yemen, media reports said.

Two masked men riding a motorcycle fired eight shots at the American, who was on his way to work in Yemen's second largest city of Taiz, CNN reported.

According to CNN, the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- the terror network's affiliate in Yemen -- sent a text message to Yemeni media outlets, in which the group said the American was spreading Christianity among Yemenis.