Al-Qaeda gunmen have slaughtered 14 Yemeni soldiers who were returning home from duty on Friday in what has been described as revenge attack for a recent army offensive.

The soldiers were on a public bus heading to Eastern Yemen in Sanaa when they were kidnapped by the Islamist insurgents, according to military officials.

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Officials said residents in the area found the bodies of the 14 soldiers either with their throats cut or riddled with bullets near Seiyoun in Hadramout province, three hours later after the abduction.

It seems like it's an act of revenge, a military official told Reuters.

Recently, Yemeni army has increased troop numbers in Wadi Hadramout region in northeastern Yemen to stop the regime attempts of local A-Qaeda group Ansar al Sharia, also known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in the main city of Seiyoun.

Ansar al Sharia later confirmed in an internet post on Friday that they abducted and killed the soldiers as punishment for their part in the military offensive against the group.

The Al Qaeda gunmen ordered the soldiers down from the bus, asked them question and check their military IDs if they belonged to the troops based in Seiyoun, the group said.

The group then led the soldiers to the market and killed them as punishment for their crimes after delivering a speech that clarifies the soldiers had participated in the latest attack against Sunni Muslims in Wadi Hadramout.

Over the past three years, Yemeni army has recurrently attacked the militants who were trying to declare Islamic emirate in cities and towns of south and eastern Yemen.

However, the army was also repeatedly driven out as the militants have increasingly launched attacks targeting soldiers, camps and government facilities in the area.

The latest move by the militants follows the attack taken by the army against them. Yemeni soldiers have killed at least 25 suspected members of AQAP in a series of confrontation in the Wadi Haramout area last week.

Moreover, U.S. treats AQAP as one of the most active arms of Osama bin Laden's militant network. It has also heightened its support for the Yemeni government and military by providing drone strikes as part of their campaign against the militant group.

TagsAl-qaeda, AQAP, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Seiyoun'Yemeni soldiers