An air strike on an Al Qaeda position in southern Yemen killed two top militants planning attacks, a Yemeni security official said.

'The raids ... killed two leading Al Qaeda elements who were planning terrorist operations against vital installations in Yemen,' the official said in a statement.

Residents earlier told Reuters that up to 20 people may have been killed in the raid in southern Abyan province.

“This area (in Abyan) had seen an appreciable rise in activity by al Qaeda elements, which was being monitored by security services,' the website of the ruling party said.

Yemen has repeatedly bombed suspected Al Qaeda sites, but residents and opposition groups have said dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed in a December 17 strike  in which authorities said more than 30 al Qaeda members died.

Earlier in March, the government expressed regret over the civilian deaths in that raid in south Yemen and said it would pay compensation to families of civilian victims.

Separately, the group said in an Internet statement that a Saudi militant -- who it said had been active in raising funds in Saudi Arabia for fighters in Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan -- was killed in a clash with government forces in southern Yemen.

Rebel withdrawal

In addition to its conflict with al Qaeda and southern separatists, Yemen is trying to bring an end to a northern Shi'ite insurgency that in November drew in Saudi Arabia. It sealed a truce with northern Shi'ite rebels last month.

The rebels said on Sunday they had completed their withdrawal from three districts near the border with Saudi Arabia, Al Arabiya television reported.

A rebel spokesman said the insurgents had handed back state and military buildings to authorities, but warned the military to stay out of villages which had been rebel strongholds during the fighting, the news channel said.

State media said a gang leader driving a stolen car was killed on Saturday in a clash in Abyan. A southern opposition news website said the man was a separatist, and that he was shot after he resisted arrest at a checkpoint.

State media also reported that in southeastern Hadramout province a court began the trial of 11 suspected separatists on Sunday on charges including 'threatening Yemen's unity'. – Reuters