U.S. drone strike kills 5 al-Qaida suspects in Yemen's Marib

SANAA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least five al-Qaida suspects were killed in an overnight U.S. drone strike on a house in Yemen's central province of Marib, a provincial security official told Xinhua on Friday.

The U.S. strike hit the house in a farm in Wadi Abida valley, killing the five suspected militants, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Much of Marib territory is under control of the Yemeni internationally-recognized government backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces.

This is the latest in a series of U.S. drone strikes targeting al-Qaida suspects in Yemen since U.S. President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group.

On Tuesday, a U.S. drone strike killed four members of the the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch in the southwestern province of Hadramout, according to local security officials.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida network, mostly operating in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflicts between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence. Enditem