Nine insurgents with suspected ties to al-Qaeda were killed in southern Yemen by the army and tribal fighters on Thursday, the Defence Ministry said on its website, dpa reported.
The ministry said Nadir al-Shadadi, a leading Yemeni al-Qaeda operative "wanted" by authorities was among those killed in the raid in Abyan province.
Local media reported the nine had been killed in a drone strike.
Yemeni troops, backed by US drones, have since April been pursuing a high-profile campaign against al-Qaeda-linked radicals in mountainous areas in the south of the country.
Militants have struck back with a series of bombings, the deadliest of which claimed the lives of 90 soldiers in the capital Sana'a in May.