Two militants have been killed on Saturday in a suspected U.S. drone strike in southern Yemen, officials and witnesses said.
Two other militants were reportedly wounded when the vehicle in which they were travelling was destroyed near al-Askariya in Lahij province, local officials told Reuters news agency.
The latest drone attacks came after a strike on Friday in Yemen’s eastern Hadramout Province, which killed five suspected militants, while two strikes in Hadramout and Marib Province killed eight militants on Thursday.
Yemen said on Wednesday it had foiled a plot by al-Qaeda to seize the port of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout and a major oil and gas export hub.
Yemen drone strikes surge since terror alert
Infographic: Yemen drone strikes surge since terror alert (Design by Farwa Rizwan/ Al Arabiya English)
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the movement’s local wing, has previously plotted unsuccessfully to attack international airliners and is seen in Washington as a potential threat to Yemen’s neighbor Saudi Arabia and Red Sea oil tankers.
A surge in drone strikes in Yemen has been reported following a threat from al-Qaeda last week which caused the United States and Britain to evacuate staff from Yemen.
(With Reuters)
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