Yemen's supreme security committee confirmed on Tuesday that it had returned eight hostages to safety.

"An American soldier and seven Yemeni soldiers" were rescued in an early morning raid on Yemen's al Qaeda branch in Hadramawt province.

The militants had kidnapped the troops from al-Annad air force base, located in the country's southwestern province of Lahj.

It was not immediately clear how long they had been in captivity.

Instability has gripped Yemen in recent years following the resignation of longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012.

The al Qaeda insurgency has also threatened to destabilize the already fragile country, which also faces a growing anti-government rebel movement in the north and a secessionist movement in the south.

kms/ksb (AP, AFP, Reuters)