At least one al-Qaeda insurgent was killed when Yemeni troops foiled a bid by fighters from the terrorist organization to infiltrate into the southern province of Al-Dhali, the Defence Ministry reported on Sunday, dpa reported.
Faced by a sustained military campaign targeting their strongholds in the southern province of Abyan, al-Qaeda operatives have been seeking other shelters inside and outside Yemen, according to the report.
"The terrorists were trying to sneak into the area of Al-Awabil in Al-Dhali when the military soldiers, supported by local fighters, blocked their way and prevented them from advancing into the province," the ministry's website said, citing military officials.
Two al-Qaeda operatives were injured and nine others arrested, added the officials.
After a year of controlling strategic areas in southern Yemen, suspected al-Qaeda insurgents from the militant group Ansar Al-Sharia (Partisans of the Islamic Law), have been driven out of most parts of the area in the United States-backed military campaign.
President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has vowed to fight al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula country, calling it a "national and religious duty."