In new signs of al Qaeda's growing strength in Yemen, the terror group killed 20 Yemeni soldiers and captured 25 others in a surprise attack on an army base Monday in the southern Abyan province.

Yemeni military officials say the attackers surrounded the base from the land and the sea.

The strike came one day after the CIA killed Fahd al-Qasaa, a top al Qaeda leader, in an airstrike in Yemen. He was wanted for the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.

So far, it's not clear whether Monday's pre-dawn assault was retaliation for al Qasaa's death.