Yemeni government forces in southern Abyan province last year following an offensive to recapture the city from al-Qaeda militants.

:: Four soldiers and six suspected al-Qaeda attackers were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber and gunmen tried to storm an army camp in southern Yemen, a local security official said.

“This was a terrorist attack and it has been foiled,” the official said of the attack in Juhayn, Abyan province.

A further 10 soldiers were wounded in the attack Reuters reported.

The Yemeni army has been preparing to deploy across Abyan to try to drive al Qaeda militants out of the province, local officials have said.

A military source told Al Arabiya that a suicide bomber. believed to be an al-Qaeda operative, smashed in to a security check point on the main road which was located near the assembly point of the 103rd brigade of the Yemeni forces.

The 103rd brigade was relocated last week from Aden as part of the ongoing anti al-Qaeda operations in the Abyan and Shabwa provinces.

Yemeni forces, backed by U.S. and UAE soldiers, deployed last week in neighboring Shabwa province where al-Qaeda also operates. Local residents and officials said the militants withdrew into the mountains without a fight.