Leader of Yemeni Qaeda cell killed by military

The leader of a Yemeni al-Qaeda cell has been killed in clashes with security forces, Yemen's state news agency reported on Wednesday.

"Abdullah Mehdar was killed last night by security forces which had besieged the house he hid in," provincial Governor Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi told reporters.

Mehdar was the leader of an al-Qaeda cell in al-Houta region, in the province of Shabwa, 600 kilometers (375 miles) east of Sanaa.

Security forces were hunting for the remaining members of the cell, Ahmadi said.

Yemen, the Arab world's poorest nation, came to the foreground of U.S.-led efforts to battle Islamist militants after the Yemen-based wing of al-Qaeda said it was behind a failed Dec. 25 plot to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner.

The Yemeni government had sent military reinforcements over the past few weeks to some eastern provinces as it intensified its fight against al-Qaeda militants.

Two Yemeni soldiers were killed in a road ambush in the country's Shabwa province, said the news agency.

Abdullah Mehdar was killed last night by security forces which had besieged the house he hid in

Provincial Governor Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi

Rebels killed

Earlier, the Interior Ministry said at least 15 Shiite Muslim rebels were killed in clashes with tribesmen loyal to the central government and in operations by security forces as violence increased in north Yemen.

"At least 15 destructive elements died in the past two days in clashes between tribesmen cooperating with the state and the destructive Houthi elements, and in security force operations launched with army units on Houthi dens," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The rebels have fought the government since 2004, complaining of social, economic and religious marginalization.

The United States and Saudi Arabia fear al-Qaeda will take advantage of Yemen's instability to spread its operations to the neighboring kingdom, the world's top oil exporter, and beyond. Yemen itself produces a small amount of oil.

Yemen, which also faces separatist sentiment in the south, is fighting al-Qaeda militants in several provinces.

Dozens of al-Qaeda militants, coming from Afghanistan, have found refuge in the rugged Kour mountain in southern Shabwa province, according to Ahmadi.

At least 15 destructive elements died in the past two days in clashes between tribesmen cooperating with the state and the destructive Houthi elements, and in security force operations launched with army units on Houthi dens

Yemeni Interior Ministry statement