Representational Image: Unmanned US drone. (Associated Press)
A drone attack killed two suspected Al Qaeda militants in the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa today, local residents told Reuters, the latest in a series of strikes in the country gripped by political turmoil.
The attack targeted militants traveling in a vehicle in the Rikhwa region of Shabwa province, residents said.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) ranks as one of the most active branches of the global network founded by Osama bin Laden.
At least six drone strikes have been conducted in Yemen so far this year, killing at least 20 people. In the last attack last week, four suspected Al Qaeda militants were killed in Shabwa, local Yemeni security officials told Reuters.
The United States has cooperated with Yemeni security forces for several years to track and bomb AQAP members, a strategy rights groups have criticised as the cause of repeated civilian deaths. Washington acknowledges using drones to combat AQAP in Yemen but does not comment publicly on attacks.
© Thomson Reuters 2015