At least five Yemeni soldiers have been killed in an ambush by suspected al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the east of the country.

An army convoy was attacked on Thursday in Shabwa province, which along with Marib and al-Jawf has seen the majority al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula activity in the country, according to local officials.

"There was an ambush targeting the soldiers' vehicle... there is suspicion that al-Qaeda was behind the operation," a provincial official said.

Yemen's Mareb Press newspaper reported that the attackers stole equipment from the dead soldiers before fleeing.

Al-Qaeda fighters have carried out two other attacks against the government in recent weeks.

A group of men raided the Political Security Organisation headquarters in Aden last month, killing 11 people. Al-Qaeda said that attack was revenge for a government assault.

And last week, gunmen attacked two government buildings in Abyan province. Police blamed that attack on the group.