SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- A U.S. drone airstrike on a car east of Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Monday killed two suspected al-Qaida militants and wounded three others, two of them seriously, according to security officials.
The airstrike was the third to target al-Qaida militants in the same area since Saturday, evidence of an uptick in the U.S. military effort against the terror organization in Yemen. On Saturday, two U.S. drone strikes killed eight people, including two known al-Qaida militants, in Marib province.
The security officials said the five targeted Monday were traveling in a pickup truck when it was hit in Marib. The three wounded were traveling in the vehicle's back bed, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The two killed were identified as Ali Saleh Toaiman and Qassim Nasser Toaiman. Members of the same clan, both men were among several hundred suspected al-Qaida militants freed by authorities in April last year after several months in detention, according to the officials.
The two are thought to have fought government forces in the southern Abyan province, where al-Qaida militants gained a foothold before they were driven out last year.
Yemen's government, aided by the U.S., has waged a campaign against al-Qaida's Yemeni branch. The group is considered among the world's most active, having planned a series of foiled or aborted attacks on U.S. territory.
The United States rarely comments on its military role in Yemen but has acknowledged targeting al-Qaida militants in the past.
