Tribal sources accused al Qaeda members of carrying out the attacks in two villages of Abyan province, where Yemeni tribesmen and the army have been battling militants.

A suicide bomber killed Sheikh Abu Bahr Ashal, chief of the Ashal tribe, and two others as he detonated an explosive belt he was wearing when he approached them while they were busy chewing the local soft narcotic qat in Moudia, east of Zinjibar -- the provincial capital mostly seized by militants since May.

The bodies of Ashal and one of his companions were torn into pieces due to the intensity of the explosion, while the third, a soldier, succumbed to his wounds in hospital, a tribal source told AFP.

A medical source confirmed the death toll.

Meanwhile, eight people were killed and 20 others wounded when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a post of armed tribesmen in the area of Arkub, near the town of Shaqra, which was taken over by militants last week, a tribal source said.

The car bomb was followed by an attack by mortars which triggered a fire fight that lasted for nearly two hours, the same source said.

A medical source said that seven of the wounded sustained serious injuries and were taken to a hospital in the neighbouring province of Baida.

Yemeni tribesmen siding with government forces have in past weeks been locked in battle with suspected al Qaeda militants in Abyan, especially in Zinjibar.

The international community has expressed fears that the power vacuum in the impoverished country could play into the hands of AQAP, which was behind several attacks, including the failed Christmas Day attempt to blow a US airliner over Detroit in 2009.

Yemen has been gripped by political turmoil since an uprising against the 33-year-old rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, now recovering from bomb blast wounds, erupted in January. Hundreds have died in battles between security forces and protesters, and between security forces and al Qaeda fighters.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011