The statement by the defense ministry didn't provide details on where or when Saleh al-Tays was killed. His name is on the list of the country's list of 25 most wanted terrorists issued last year.
The military has targeted Al-Tays with operations and airstrikes before. He had been suspected to have been killed before in targeted attacks, including in U.S drone strikes in 2013, 2008 and 2009.
Al-Tays is one of 25 on a list of wanted terrorists issued by the government in August 2013 on suspicion they were plotting to attack foreign offices and organisations, as well as Yemeni government installations and police and military.
The statement listed some allegedly senior figures in the branch, known as Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi nationals Ibrahim Mohammed el-Rubaish, who was released from the US's Guantanamo Bay facility in 2006, and Ibrahim Hassan el-Assiri.
More From This Section
Military officials said earlier that an attack in Arhab region targeted militants who had fled from Shabwa and Abyan provinces, where the army launched a big offensive earlier this month causing them heavy losses and forcing others to flee.
Last night, Yemeni warplanes launched three airstrikes targeting suspected militants in cars the same area, killing two, the officials said.
The officials also said that a US drone strike at dawn today killed three suspected al-Qaida militants hiding in the Uther village in the same area, prompting others to flee to the nearby village of Wasil.