Yemen's air forces conducted air strikes on Tuesday (July 5th) in the south where al-Qaeda fighters have captured a number of towns, wire agencies reported.

Six fighters were killed in the strikes along with four civilians, AFP reported. Al-Qaeda has taken over the provincial capital of Zinjibar as well as the town of Jaar.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis held protests in Sanaa and other cities calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and a transition of power that would witness a national-unity government until elections take place. Saleh is still being treated in Saudi Arabia for injuries sustained during a June 3rd rocket attack on the presidential palace in Sanaa.

Officials and residents of Yemen's second-largest city of Taiz told AP that forces from the Republican Guard, commanded by Saleh's son Ahmed, shelled a part of the city and injured a number of armed tribesmen. They responded by firing on army vehicles.

Also on Monday, local authorities in Taiz signed an agreement with the political opposition to end armed protests in the streets and to return "looted public and private property", the official Saba News agency reported.