The alleged leader of an al-Qaeda cell in Yemen has been killed in an exchange of fire with security forces, according to a provincial governor.
Abdullah Mehdar is said to have been the leader of an al-Qaeda group in the province of Shabwa, 375 miles (600km) east of the capital, Sanaa.
Reports said security forces were hunting other members of the cell.
Yemen's state news agency also reported two Yemeni soldiers had been killed in a road ambush in the same province.
The governor of Shabwa province, Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi, said from the provincial capital, Ataq: "Abdullah Mehdar was killed last night by security forces, which had besieged the house he hid in."
The spotlight was turned on Yemen after the Yemen-based group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it had carried out a failed bomb attack on a US-bound airliner on 25 December.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama said he had "no intention" of sending US troops to Yemen or Somalia to combat militant groups in those countries.
Analysts say al-Qaeda militants have been moving to Yemen after coming under pressure in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and following a crackdown in Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Yemeni officials said another local al-Qaeda leader and two other militants had been arrested after being injured in a raid 25 miles (40km) north of Sanaa.
