The drone strike, carried out on Thursday, eliminated Jalal Baleedi along with two other AQAP members, Sputnik reported with the reference to the New York Times reported.
The United States wanted the terrorist leader for his role in planning attacks on diplomatic facilities in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
In October, Yemeni Ambassador to the United States Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak told Sputnik Sanaa remains Washington's counterterrorism partner despite ongoing criticism of the controversial US drone strike program for killing civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Between 2011 and 2013, the US military faced "critical shortfalls" in the technology and intelligence it uses to find and kill suspected terrorists in Yemen, according to the Intercept's reports.