SANAA, YEMEN (AP) — Yemeni military officials say airstrikes have killed at least six al-Qaida militants in the southern Shabwa province.

The officials say Sunday's air raids targeted militant positions between the towns of al-Houta and Azan in Shabwa, where the army is pushing on with an offensive to rout al-Qaida from its hideouts.

Azan, which is also in al-Qaida hands, has been under daily bombardment. Yemen's Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed is in Ataq, the provincial capital of Shabwa, to supervise the operations.

Meanwhile, a security official says the deputy security chief Mukalla, a city in the eastern Hadramout province, was killed Sunday by a bomb attached to his car.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.