SANAA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. drone airstrikes have killed at least seven suspected al-Qaida operatives in Yemen's northeastern province of Marib, a security official said Wednesday.
"Two al-Qaida leaders, Saleh al-Awlaki and Saeed Ba-Kadir, were targeted and killed along with five others in two separated U.S. drone strikes in late night of Tuesday," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The strikes were on two cars in different locations. The first car was hit on a road in Atran area, east of Marib's central city, while the other was hit at the same time at a junction linking the areas of Al-Shabwan and Hoson Al-Jalal, also in eastern Marib, said the official. Marib has long been a hub of al-Qaida activities.
The attacks were the latest in a series of airstrikes carried out by U.S. drones against al-Qaida suspects in Yemen.
On April 5, a U.S. drone killed two militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, including Khattab Wuhayshi, the nephew of Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the slain founder of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), according to a security official.
Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgents in the Middle East.
The Yemen-based AQAP, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and government institutions.
So far, the AQAP and other terrorists have taken advantage of the security vacuum and ongoing civil war to expand their influence and seize more territories in the south of the country.
Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when a war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
