The Southern Transitional Council last week swept through swathes of Yemen in a near-bloodless takeover they say aimed to expel Islamists and halt smuggling for the benefit of the Houthis.

As they seized most of Hadramawt, the country's largest province, they pushed Islamist government-aligned forces to neighbouring Marib.

"The treacherous attack targeted a security checkpoint at the Arin camp. It was a suicide drone strike that killed three soldiers," Brigadier General Wajdi Baoum, who heads a local force within the STC, told AFP.

"The attack was carried out by elements of the Muslim Brotherhood," he said, referring to government-aligned Islamists who were pushed to neighbouring Marib province.

"The drone came from the direction of Marib, which they control," he said, adding, "Our response will be harsh."

The STC's military spokesman, Mohammed Al Naqeeb, meanwhile, said clashes following an attack by rival forces killed three fighters and injured seven.

Before it was mostly seized by the separatists, parts of Hadramawt were controlled by the First Military Region of the army, which is led by Islamist forces accused by the STC of being part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Both the STC and the Islamists are part of the internationally recognised government.

Yemen is split between the Houthis, who control much of the north, and a fractious patchwork of anti-rebel groups, which include the STC, represented by the internationally recognised government.

The STC's advances have raised fears of friction with other government groups and that the group might secede in an effort to revive the once independent South Yemen.

Last week, STC forces swept inland in Hadramawt, seizing the key city of Seiyun as well as oil fields in the mostly desert area bordering Saudi Arabia.

Some local leaders in neighbouring Mahra province, which borders Oman and is a key smuggling route, also joined their alliance, the STC told AFP.

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