The militant, Saleh Al-Shawish, shouted in court after the verdict that Al-Qaeda would have its revenge. "Your destruction will be by our hands, God willing," he shouted, "starting in Abyan" — a reference to a southern province where attacks by the terror network against security forces have increased in recent months.

Yemen has stepped up the fight against Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the country, which is believed to have several hundred fighters entrenched in remote, mountainous areas of the country. The group, called Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, announced last week in an online audio message the formation of the "Abyan-Aden Army," aimed at toppling the Yemeni government.

Al-Shawish was arrested in February and later charged with involvement in seven attacks on security facilities, training would-be suicide bombers and bomb making.

Al-Shawish, also known as Salem Al-Hadrami, confessed to blowing up security checkpoints starting in 2007, according to transcripts of his interrogations. He told the state prosecutor's office that he, along with others, attacked oil facilities in the eastern province of Hadramaut using Katyusha rockets.

He rejected a court's offer to assign a defense lawyer. He also turned down a request to appeal the verdict.