Yemeni military officials say at least five suspected al-Qaida militants have been killed in a series of airstrikes over southern towns.

Officials say the strikes carried out by government warplanes on late Monday and Tuesday targeted militant hideouts in areas including Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province. They say at least two civilians were also killed in the strikes.

On Monday, tens of thousands of Yemenis rallied in the capital, Sana'a, to protest against the government's handling of an Islamist insurgency in Abyan province.

The protesters accused the government of not doing enough to combat Islamist militants who took control of parts of the province in late May.

Opposition activists have staged protests on an almost daily basis over the past five months. They have been demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year autocratic rule.

The president remains in Saudi Arabia, where he is receiving treatment for injuries sustained in a June 3 bombing in Sana'a.