By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 6:21 PM EDT, Tue April 24, 2012

(CNN) -- The fourth-most wanted al Qaeda leader in Yemen was killed on Tuesday in an airstrike in the northeastern province of Mareb, the Yemeni government announced.

Two senior security officials told CNN that U.S. drones conducted the airstrike.

The Interior Ministry said Mohammed Saeed al-Umda was killed when his vehicle was hit in the remote desert region of Al-Samdah. Two of his aides also died in the strike.

"This is a success for the war on terror. Al-Umda has been on the run for years and his absence will help in limiting the terror network's operation in Yemen," a senior Defense Ministry official told CNN on condition of anonymity.

According to the Interior Ministry, al-Umda was one of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula's top commanders and was tasked with providing logistical and financial support to the network.

In 2006, he escaped from the Sana'a political security prison and was sentenced for 10 years in absentia by a Yemen criminal court.

The news of al-Umda's death comes as the government announced a full-scale operation against al Qaeda militants in the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan, Mareb and al-Baitha.

The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that at least 52 suspected al Qaeda militants were killed over the past two days in battles and airstrikes on numerous targets in the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa.

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/24/world/meast/yemen-al-qaeda-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Steve walks warily down the street,
With the brim pulled way down low
Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet,
Machine guns ready to go

Are you ready,
Are you ready for this
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

Another One Bites The Dust - John Deacon (Queen)