Yemeni warplanes and ground troops launched a dawn assault Wednesday on Al-Qaeda positions in the restive southern Abyan province, killing 10 militants, local officials said.

Seven militants were killed inside Jaar when hit by artillery shells fired by troops from west of the city, a local official told AFP.

Under the control of Al-Qaeda since May 2011, Jaar has been the focus of an offensive by the army aimed at driving the Islamists out of the city. Twelve militants were also wounded in Wednesday’s assault on Jaar, the official added.

Three other militants were killed when army warplanes struck an Al-Qaeda communications center in the city of Shaqra, another local official said, adding that six jihadists were also injured in the raid.