Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) -- Government troops in southern Yemen on Sunday attacked al Qaeda hideouts , killing two dozen suspected militants in the latest push to clear the area of the terror organization , local security officials said . Four members of the military were also killed in the clashes , which began early in the morning in the Abyan districts of Zinjibar and Jaar , the officials said , while nine troops were wounded . Government warplanes aided in the assault . `` We succeeded in taking over three strategic posts near Jaar and our forces will continue to go forward , '' said one of the officials , who spoke on condition of anonymity . `` Al Qaeda fighters are evacuating areas previously under their control due to the intensive government bombardment , '' the official added . Yemen 's government has been fighting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for years with mixed results . Suspected al Qaeda militants seized Abyan last year during Yemen 's political stalemate after government troops evacuated most military posts in the province . Recently , the government sent thousands of troops to Abyan in its latest assault against the militants , vowing not to retreat until al Qaeda is defeated . The clashes took place the same day White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan met with President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi in Sanaa . The two discussed efforts to eradicate al Qaeda and build a `` modern civil state , '' according to a statement from the Yemeni Embassy in Washington . Brennan also met with major military figures to discuss training , equipment assistance and the sharing of information , it said . On Saturday , a pair of U.S. drone strikes killed 11 suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen 's Mareb province . The strikes occurred nearly a week after a senior operative of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was killed by a CIA drone strike and less than three weeks after a Yemeni-linked terror plot to bring down a U.S.-bound jetliner was foiled . Fahd al Quso , 37 , was killed while riding in a vehicle in the Rafdh district in Shabwa province a week ago Sunday , according to officials . Al Quso was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York in 2003 on 50 counts of terrorism offenses for his role in the October 12 , 2000 , bombing of the USS Cole in Aden , Yemen . The bombing killed 17 U.S. sailors . The terror plot revealed last week has been described by U.S. officials as involving a device that is an evolution of the bomb smuggled aboard a U.S.-bound plane on Christmas Day 2009 by a young Nigerian , Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab . The device originated in Yemen and was brought to authorities ' attention by a mole who infiltrated al Qaeda , a source in the region told CNN . The man works for Saudi intelligence , which has cooperated with the CIA for years , the source said . Information from the mole also led to the drone strike against al Quso .
Four members of the military also were killed , officials say . - The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on a police training center in Kabul that left at least 10 people dead and more than 20 wounded. It comes the same day as John Brennan 's visit to Sanaa .