(CNN) -- A Yemeni court Monday sentenced to death one of the leaders of the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen's state-run news agency reported. 

Prior to his capture, trial and sentencing, Saleh al-Shawsh had been one of the three most wanted members of the group, an arm of Osama bin Laden's broader terrorist organization formed last year. 

The Specialized Criminal Court in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa sentenced al-Shawsh after finding him guilty of killing Yemeni soldiers and attacking oil installations and security checkpoints in the province of Hadramout, reported Saba, the Middle Eastern nation's state-run news agency. Referring to al-Shawsh as a member of an "armed gang," the report said that the incidents he was involved in occurred between 2007 and 2010. 

Yemen has become a main battleground for al Qaeda, with the government carrying out air strikes and a ground campaign against the group this weekend. 

President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, met the president of Yemen a month ago to discuss al Qaeda and U.S. support for Yemen, the U.S. Embassy announced at the time. Brennan delivered a letter to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh affirming U.S. support for Yemen, the embassy said. 

The Obama administration is considering adding armed CIA drones to help fight the increasing threat of al Qaeda in Yemen, a U.S. official said in August. 

A U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN that the administration recognizes that "not enough is being done in Yemen" to meet the growing challenge posed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. 
Who was sentenced?
Saleh al-Shawsh