Aden, Apr 1 (IANS): A deadly ambush carried out by al-Qaeda militants has killed four soldiers of the pro-government forces and left three others injured in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, a military official told the media.

The local military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Sunday revealed that al-Qaeda militants staged an ambush on a patrol of pro-government forces as it passed through the Omran valley in Mudiyah district, northeast of Abyan.

"The ambush resulted in the killing of four soldiers, while three others sustained injuries, two of them in critical condition," the source said, adding that following the ambush, intense clashes erupted between the soldiers and the attackers, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ambush unfolded as forces allied with the Yemeni government intensified operations codenamed "Arrows of the East" in recent weeks, aiming to track down and eliminate remnants of the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch following the destruction of their strongholds across the southern province, according to local officials.

Despite these offensives, the Yemeni officials said that al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch, regarded as one of the terrorist organisation's most formidable offshoots, continues to exploit the prevailing chaos of Yemen's protracted civil conflict to entrench its presence.

The militants frequently deploy improvised explosive devices and landmines across the region, posing a grave threat to government and allied forces engaged in operations against them

Yemen has been embroiled in a complex civil war for nearly a decade, with the internationally recognised government facing off against the Houthi militants, who currently control substantial swaths of the country, including the capital Sanaa.