Four Al-Qaeda militants and a soldier were killed in overnight fighting outside Zinjibar, capital of the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, a military official said Saturday.

The insurgents had fired three rockets at the headquarters of the 25th Mechanised Brigade, killing the soldier and wounding six others.

Separately, three Al-Qaeda militants were killed and five wounded Friday when a bomb they were making accidentally exploded in Al-Mahfad, a town in northern Abyan, a local official said.

Yemeni forces launched an all-out offensive on May 12 aimed at reclaiming Zinjibar and other localities in Abyan lost to Al-Qaeda during the past year.