Unknown gunmen ambushed the motorcade of a senior security official in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Sunday, a government official said.

"The soldiers of the convoy clashed with assailants during the ambush on the outskirts of Zinjibar, capital of Abyan Province, and managed to rescue the security leader," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

Two bodyguards were killed and a number of soldiers were injured during the confrontation with the assailants who fled the area following the attack, he added.

The targeted security leader was leading a number of security units linked to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and began a campaign against terror elements in the area during the past days, according to the official.

Sporadic armed attacks are targeting the military checkpoints of the newly-recruited southern forces stationed in Abyan.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, has been 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.