ADEN, Yemen - Air raids carried out by the Yemeni air forces against several al-Qaida targets killed at least two militants and injured five others in the southern province of Abyan on Monday, a local army officer told Xinhua.

The officer said on condition of anonymity that the air raids targeted some hideouts of the militants in the Dovas valley, leaving two militants killed and five others wounded as well as causing huge damages to the group's military equipment.

The al-Qaida militants pulled out as a result of the intensified air raids, the officer said, adding that the group was entrenched in al-Mrakid area now.

Meanwhile, an officer of the besieged 25th Mechanized Brigade told Xinhua that the army troops managed to partially break the severe blockade imposed on the brigade by al-Qaida militants a month ago.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took advantage of the fragile situation in Yemen amid continuous anti-government protests and insecurity to expand its attacks against the army forces in Yemen's southern and eastern main provinces.