WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said the United States had not signed a military cooperation deal with Yemen, refuting a report from Sanaa's official news agency.

"There were no agreements signed," spokesman Bryan Whitman told AFP.

But US military officers had recently held two days of talks with their Yemeni counterparts, he said.

"The United States values its relationship with Yemeni military forces and remains committed to improving the relationship," he said.

Yemen's official Saba news agency said on Wednesday that the two countries had signed a military cooperation agreement during talks in the capital Sanaa.

Yemen is Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland and has been a major focus of the jihadist network's activities.

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