Yemeni police on Wednesday captured three suspected al-Qaida members allegedly involved in terrorist activities and armed attacks in southeastern province of Hadramout, while up to 20 people were killed in sectarian clashes in Yemen's north, local officials told Xinhua.

Up to 20 people were killed in sectarian clashes in Yemen's northern province of al-Jawf, tribal officials said Wednesday.

The clashes between Shiite Houthi rebels and Sunni tribal residents erupted on Monday night on the outskirts of al-Ghayl town following the collapse of weeks-long truce conducted by a presidential committee, said the officials.

At least 15 Shiite rebels and five Sunni fighters have been killed and dozens of others injured, they said.

Local residents accused the Shiite rebels of trying to seize their town by using heavy arms, an allegation that was denied by the Houthi spokesperson.

Several houses were damaged by random shelling as clashes continued on Wednesday in and around the town, about 143 km northeast of the capital Sanaa.

On July 8, Shiite rebels seized the provincial capital of Amran province, some 50 km north of Sanaa, after nine months of sporadic fighting against the army backed by Sunni fighters, during which hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands displaced.

According to the United Nations agencies, up to 40,000 people have been displaced by conflict in Amran province since October 2013, about half of whom fled their homes in May. This is in addition to over 42,000 people displaced by earlier rounds of conflict in the area.

Yemen has been undergoing a shaky political transition backed by a coalition, which came to power in a February 2012 election following year-long protests that led to the resignation of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Shiite rebels have since expanded their control over northern provinces. They have controlled the northern Saada province since August 2010, when they signed a ceasefire deal with the government and ended a six-year intermittent war.

"Three suspected al-Qaida members, aged between 32 and 35, were arrested during an anti-terror sweeps conducted by units of the elite special police troops in the town of Qattan of Hadramout province," a provincial police source said on condition of anonymity.

"All three were Yemeni citizens and accused of masterminding assassinations and attacks in Hadramout," the police official said, adding that they have been taken into custody for questioning and further investigations.

On Friday night, suspected al-Qaida gunmen ambushed an army convoy in Yemen's province of Hadramout, killing 14 soldiers and beheading them all after their capture, according to Yemeni security officials.

Yemeni military officials blamed militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot for a series of assassinations and armed attacks taking place mostly in the country's southern parts.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, which emerged in January 2009, is considered one of the greatest threats to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Endi

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