Twin suicide bombing attacks targeted two military bases of the Yemeni army forces in the war- torn southern province of Abyan on Sunday morning, killing at least eight soldiers and injuring dozens of others, an army official told Xinhua.

Two booby-trapped cars exploded at a military checkpoint in the suburbs of Zinjibar city, Abyan's provincial capital, leaving at least eight soldiers killed and dozens of others injured, the local army official said on condition of anonymity.

Following the blasts, an intensive armed attack was carried out by al-Qaida militants against the army troops, the official said.

Fierce fighting is still going on between the 115th Armored Brigade and al-Qaida fighters in the Dovas area, backed by air strikes of Yemeni warplanes, he added.

A source close to the al-Qaida militants told Xinhua anonymously that "We managed to seize control over an army outpost along with its heavy machine-guns and ammunition equipment during the fighting today (Sunday)."

"Several soldiers were also held hostages by our brave fighters, " the source said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP) in Abyan told Xinhua that a big war has already began in coastal areas in Abyan and regions close the southern port city of Aden.

"There are big battles taking place now in several areas outside Zinjibar and in the coastal area of Dovas near Aden between AQAP fighters and government troops," the spokesperson said, adding that "several air strikes also hit many areas outside Zinjibar."

"That's the initial details we got, as the war is ongoing, no exact number of casualties was available until now," he said.

The spokesperson denied reports that AQAP seized a government military camp near Zinjibar, while a provincial security official in Aden confirmed that AQAP ambushed a security patrol near Aden airport, which killed three soldiers and wounded five others.

"Al-Qaida is launching large-scale attacks in Aden, al-Bayda, Hadramout, Shabwa and Abyan... and we are fighting them back," the security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He said the battles in Dovas and near Zinjibar are ongoing and no exact details of casualties are available yet.

The ongoing fighting came less than 24 hours after the resurgent al-Qaida wing launched deadly attacks against the government elite Republican Guards in the southeast province of al- Bayda and the Central Security camp in the southern province of Hadramout.

"Al-Qaida is launching crazy separated attacks against government troops in several southern regions, aiming to disturb the government planned massive offensive against Zinjibar and Jaar towns," said a Yemeni intelligence official.

"The AQAP's separated attacks reveal that the group is sending a message that it has the ability to launch several battles in many separated regions at the same time against the government troops... so this is a message telling the government troops to stop deployment near Zinjibar," he said, adding that "it seems that al-Qaida is afraid of the government planned attacks on Zinjibar and Jaar."

The Yemeni government has given the AQAP militants an ultimatum to quit the captured cites in Abyan.

Taking advantage of the one-year-long anti-government protests, the resurgent AQAP, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), has taken control of several cities across the restive southern provinces.

The Yemeni government forces have been battling the AQAP militants in the south, leaving hundreds of people killed and thousands displaced.

The AQAP, entrenching itself mainly in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, is on the terrorist list of the United States.

Newly-elected Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has vowed to strengthen the security and intelligence cooperation with the United States in combating the AQAP, which has threatened the daily oil shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.