A US drone strike eliminated at least three suspected members of Al‑Qaeda’s local branch in northeastern Yemen on Sunday, a Yemeni security official said, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The strike hit a house in the Wadi Abida district of Marib province, with the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirming that three missiles struck the building, killing three suspected terrorists and wounding several others.
According to the official, the targets were originally from neighboring al‑Bayda province. Local residents reported seeing drones circling overhead since midday before explosions leveled the house.
There was no immediate comment from the US military or from Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
The United States has long conducted drone operations in Yemen against Al‑Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington considers one of the terror network’s most dangerous branches.
AQAP has carried out many terrorist attacks in Yemen in recent years and has also targeted the West.
In 2015, the group claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris and then called for “lone wolf attacks" against Western targets.
Last summer, the US State Department announced it has raised the reward for information leading to the whereabouts of AQAP leader Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki from $6 million to $10 million.
Al-Awlaki, who became head of AQAP in 2024, has “publicly called for attacks against the United States and our allies," the State Department said.