At least 10 al-Qaida militants were killed and dozens of others were injured on Thursday when warplanes of the Yemeni air forces struck al-Qaida hideouts in the southern province of Abyan, a local army officer told Xinhua.

The officer said on condition of anonymity that the warplanes pounded a police headquarters controlled by al-Qaida in the northern outskirts of the al-Wadhee district, leaving 10 of al- Qaida members killed and dozens of others injured.

Some identified senior al-Qaida leaders among the killed in the airstrikes, the officer said, adding that the casualties were expected to be high due to the continuing and intensified air raids on al-Qaida gatherings in various areas of Abyan province.

The airstrikes caused huge damages to the police headquarters, which was seized by al-Qaida a month ago, he said.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, is a key stronghold of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Al-Qaida militants seized a number of southern cities including the Zinjibar city, the provincial capital of Abyan province late in May, and THE Yemeni government forces have sought to push them out by carrying intensified airstrikes and shelling.