SANAA - At least six civilians were killed and nine others were wounded on Sunday when Yemeni military forces shelled al-Qaida hideouts in the provincial capital city of southern troubled Abyan province, medics said.

"Al-Razi hospital have received six bodies of civilians and other nine injured during the ongoing battles between government forces and fighters of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) ," doctors said.

No death toll of AQAP militants and government forces has been reported till now.

Residents of Zinjibar city, which was seized by fighters of AQAP on Saturday and was regarded as the capital of the group's newly-born Taliban-style Islamic Emirate, said government forces has been shelling the city since Friday.

Since the beginning of the four-month-long anti-government protests aimed at ousting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, the AQAP has launched sporadic heavy attacks in Abyan.