SANAA: Al-Qaeda gunmen shot dead four Yemeni soldiers on Wednesday when they attacked a checkpoint in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, a military officer said.

Several other soldiers wounded in the attack, in the area of Mayfa, the officer said.

In another part of Hadramawt, Al-Qaeda-linked militants continued to hold soldiers hostages at an army headquarters they stormed on Monday in the port city of Mukalla.

The militants seized the building after a suicide bomber rammed a car into the entrance. Army forces recaptured two stories and cornered the gunmen in on the top floor.

Monday’s attack was the second major assault on the army in 10 days.

Meanwhile, officials say a national security court has accused three former top military officials, including a nephew of the former president, over negligence for a suicide attack that struck a military parade and killed more than 90 conscripts.

Officials say the court also Wednesday sentenced five militants to up to ten years in prison for their role in the same May 2012 attack in the capital Sanaa.

The court said the senior officials, including the nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were not present during the attack.