ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's government said Tuesday that the spokesman for the Islamic State (IS) terror group was killed in a joint counterterrorism operation involving Yemeni forces and special forces from the Saudi-led coalition.

The state-run Saba TV channel, citing the Central State Security Agency, reported that Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, a senior IS figure and the group's official spokesman, was killed during an operation that had initially sought to capture him.

The operation was carried out by special forces from the Saudi-led coalition with support from Yemen's 22nd Counterterrorism Unit, according to the report. The agency did not disclose the location of the operation or provide further details about the circumstances of al-Ansari's death.

A local military source told Xinhua that the raid was carried out at around 1:30 a.m. local time (2230 GMT Monday) in Seiyun, a city in Yemen's southeastern Hadramout province, targeting an old mud-brick house in the al-Hawta neighborhood where al-Ansari was staying.

Al-Ansari was wounded and captured during the raid but later died of his injuries, the source said, adding that another person inside the house was also killed. The operation was backed by drones, according to the source.

Local residents told Xinhua that explosions were heard in Seiyun around the time of the raid.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State have exploited years of conflict and instability in Yemen to maintain a presence, particularly in parts of the country's southern and eastern regions.