The military operation, launched in the Maarib province's Wadi Abeida, about 200 km from the capital Sanaa, to catch suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen thought to have been responsible for ambushing a military convoy on Saturday that left a commander and a soldier dead, the official said.
Maarib is home to most of Yemen's oil fields as well as gunmen believed to belong to a resurgent Yemen-based Al-Qaeda wing that has been trying to strengthen its foothold in the Arabian Peninsula state.
Al-Qaeda members, many of whom hail from local tribes, have forged links with tribesmen in efforts to establish a support base in Yemen, where government control is weak in many areas outside Sanaa.
The official said Yemeni forces had shelled the home of Saleh Areydan, a suspected Al-Qaeda operative believed to have killed Yemeni military brigade leader Mohamed Saleh Al-Shaief.
Residents in the area, however, said the shelled home belonged to a different Al-Qaeda suspect, Hassan Al-Aqili, also wanted over the officer's death.
Al-Qaeda's Yemen wing jumped to the forefront of Western security concerns after claiming responsibility for a botched attempt to bomb a US-bound plane in December. Earlier this year, Yemen declared war on the global militant group.
Two weeks ago a Yemeni mediator who was also Maarib's deputy governor died in an errant air strike targeting Al-Qaeda, prompting protests and clashes between his kinsmen and security forces.
