At least 21 al-Qaida militants were killed by the army forces Saturday in a fighting in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, the country's defense ministry said.

The army forces killed 18 al-Qaida militants in Zinjibar city and three others in Lauder city during fierce clashes, said the ministry.

A storage of ammunition and weapons belonging to the al-Qaida militants was destroyed completely, according to the ministry.

Earlier the day, five soldiers of the army forces were killed in clashes with al-Qaida militants, a local military official told Xinhua.