The Supreme Security Committee on Wednesday said a senior Al-Qaida leader was killed in an airstrike along with two would-be bombers in Baidha province.
Salah Al-Jawheri, dubbed Al-Thalaja, was the leader of Al-Qaida in Yafi in south Yemen and the commander of suicide cells in Sanaa and Baidha provinces, a source at the committee said.
The two, killed in the airstrike which came within an ongoing hunt for militants in several parts of the country, had been prepared to attack military and security officials in Baidha, the source said.
Within the upgraded counterterrorism efforts after the huge victory on Al-Qaida in Abyan, the authorities also thwarted a plot to target foreign embassies in the capital Sanaa, the source added.
"The authorities seized a car inside which three terrorists, explosives and maps showing the locations of foreign embassies and houses of senior military commanders in Yemen were captured," the source continued.
Furthermore, the authorities have arrested a terrorist cell led by Nizar Abdulrahman Al-Jumai, a Tunisian who was one of the most dangerous foreign terrorists wanted by Yemen, the source said.
"The cell was spotted while moving among the provinces of Abyan, Shabwa and Hadramout".
Yemen has launched a massive hunt for militants, who escaped after the forces drove Al-Qaida out of its strongholds seized last year in Abyan province.
Many militants including senior leaders have been killed in the hunt in provinces adjacent to Abyan so far.
Hundreds of militants including leaders were killed in the Abyan offensive over the past few months.
After its severe defeat, Al-Qaida vowed to retaliate through attacking key US and Yemeni targets.