U.S. drone strike kills 6 al-Qaida suspects in Yemen's Marib

A U.S. drone strike killed at least six suspected al-Qaida operators overnight in Yemen's northeast province of Marib, a security official said on Monday.

The drone strike launched late Sunday night in Wadi Abidah region, central Marib, the country's oil-producing province which the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces regained control of from Shiite rebels in late 2015.

"The U.S. drone strike targeted the six armed al-Qaida suspects while they were at a meeting in a farm in the area," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

U.S. drones have been active over skies of Yemeni cities since years ago, launching hundreds of air strikes that killed scores of al-Qaida leaders and many other extremists.

Yemen has recently seen a growing number of Al-Qaida activities in eastern and southern provinces, due to the prolonged security vacuum resulting from the 18-month civil war between the exiled government and Houthi rebels who seized much of the country's north including capital Sanaa since 2014. Endit