US drone strike kills 3 al-Qaida militants in Yemen

About three suspected al-Qaida militants were killed late on Saturday when a U.S. drone strike bombed their moving car in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, a military official said.

"An unmanned U.S. aircraft bombed a truck carrying three suspected al-Qaida terrorists when they were heading towards a newly established military training camp in Abar region near Yemen 's border with Saudi Arabia, destroying the vehicle and killing all onboard," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

"During the past few weeks, scores of the al-Qaida militants joined that training camp aiming to launch terrorist attacks against the Yemeni and Saudi security forces stationed in the borders of the countries," he added.

A Yemeni intelligence officer confirmed the incident to Xinhua, saying that "the U.S. drone fired two missiles on the car, leaving three most wanted and dangerous al-Qaida operatives killed on the spot."

Late on Thursday, the Yemeni Defense ministry announced that security troops of the 2nd Regional Military stationed near the Presidential Palace in Hadramout destroyed three moving vehicles carrying al-Qaida militants and VBIEDs before reaching their target.

U.S. drone strikes against al-Qaida militants have increased in Yemen since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February 2012.

However, critics from the human rights groups said the drone strikes violate international law and cause heavy civilian casualties.

The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, is considered as major threat to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Suadi Arabia. Endi