Intense clashes broke out between the gunmen of a Yemen-based al-Qaida branch and drug dealers in the country's oil-rich province of Hadramout on Friday, killing an al-Qaida commander, a security said.

The clashes that lasted for hours led to the death of a mid-ranking commander identified as Tariq Bin Salmeen AlKathiri in the southeastern province, the local security source said on condition of anonymity, noting that "the two groups are rivaling for presence in the Hadramout's valley."

Last week, local Yemeni authorities said that four foreign workers of the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres/MSF) were kidnapped by suspected al-Qaida gunmen in Hadramout.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against the newly-recruited security forces particularly in the country's southern provinces.

The AQAP has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi militia to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country.