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ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- About five members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed when a U.S. drone strike targeted their car in southeastern province of Hadramout early on Wednesday, a security official told Xinhua.
"Five al-Qaida members were all killed when three missiles fired from a U.S. drone destroyed their car near Raukab area, east of Mukalla city, Hadramout's provincial capital," the local security source said on condition of anonymity.
He said that identities of the dead were unclear but they were al-Qaida operatives.
A Hadramout-based resident said that the unmanned U.S. aircraft had kept hovering over the area before and after the air bombing, causing panic among local citizens.
Hadramout province has seen scores of armed attacks after hundreds of militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took control of the Mukalla city several months ago.
Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.
AQAP, which emerged in January 2009 and also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions.
