At least 10 soldiers were killed as members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch attacked a security checkpoint in the country's southern province of Abyan on Thursday, a government official said. "Armed elements of al-Qaida carried out an attack against a security checkpoint in Ahwar district of Abyan, leaving at least 10 soldiers killed," the local government source said on condition of anonymity. He confirmed that the al-Qaida assailants used grenades during their attack against the checkpoint. A number of civilians living near the checkpoint, including women and children, were injured during the al-Qaida attack, he said. The targeted security checkpoint belongs to the newly-recruited southern troops loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), according to the source. Sporadic armed attacks have recently been targeting the military checkpoints of the pro-government forces or the STC security units stationed in Abyan. The Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, is responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country. The AQAP, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country.