Suspected al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen seized and executed 17 soldiers loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Saturday, local officials and residents said.

RELATED: 
1 Year Later: West-Backed Saudi Coalition Has Destroyed Yemen

The soldiers were detained while travelling from the southern port of Aden to al-Mahra province in eastern Yemen via Ahwar, a city in Abyan province under al-Qaida control.

The militants took them to a remote area and killed them by firing squad, the officials and residents said. They said 17 other captive soldiers were wounded in the incident and some managed to escape and get help from local tribal leaders.

Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, later issued a statement denying responsibility for the attack and blamed a local armed fighter named Ali Aqeel.

The soldiers had been visiting family in Aden and were returning to their base in al-Mahra to draw their salaries, security sources said. They were not dressed in military uniform and were not riding in military vehicles.