U.S. drone strike kills 4 al-Qaida suspects in Yemen

A U.S. drone strike killed four al-Qaida suspects in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, a security official told Xinhua on Thursday.

"The U.S. drone hit a vehicle driving on a desert road on the outskirts of al-Mukalla, the provincial capital city of Hadramout, late on Wednesday, killing four al-Qaida militants on board," the official told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

Sources close to al-Qaida confirmed the drone strike.

The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been taking advantage of a security vacuum caused by the war in Yemen between the Shiite Houthi group and pro-government tribal fighters.

The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in September last year and ousted the government as they advanced toward southern and eastern provinces.

Washington increased drone strikes against al-Qaida in the country since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February 2012.

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

Last week, the AQAP, in an online video, confirmed the death of its top leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who also served as second-in-command of the global terror network and heir to Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a U.S. drone attack earlier this month.

The statement said Qasim al-Raimi, AQAP military commander, had been elected by the group's Shura Council to replace al-Wuhayshi.

Al-Wuhayshi established the AQAP in 2009 after the merger of Saudi and Yemeni branches, and declared in July 2011 the group's allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of al-Qaida's global network, after the death of its founder, Osama bin Laden, in 2011.

Under his leadership, the AQAP carried out a number of attacks on some Western countries, including a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner and attacks against the weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this year. Endit